Not Now, Not Ever
by BloodAndDiamonds
Summary: She's not sure why she opted to save him, but she did even when the others thought she should have just killed him. For even with the blight clawing at her heels, if she has to travel around all of Thedas to save her clanmate, she will.
1. Tamlen

**A/N: **Heh, another story from me, this one another Tamlen and Mahariel, although it's _not_ related to Masquerade. Took me some time to write this, so I'll likely only continue if I get a decent amount of rev's for the chapter =) Yeah, I'm a review whore, your point? ;D

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_Lina_

She watches Morrigan argue with Leliana over chantry views, listens as Wynne scolds Alistair on his festering wound and smiles when she sees Sten and her dog, Rinoa, wrestling somewhat in the middle of the camp. Shale watches and clenches her fists; Zevran tries to sway Oghren into having a drinking contest to test if the Dwarf really can down as much as he claims. And Lina, she'll watch it all everyday and hates the consistency of it all. It's too familiar for her to like, yet she can't live without the familiar arguments and complaints.

And the elf, Zevran, he is so similar to _him _that she hates it, despite that his hair is too light, his eyes too odd a colour to belong to _him_. Zevran will flirt, woo and touch, be rewarded with a smack to the head with the flat edge of a sword, and will repeat the entire process an hour later. She had to chuckle at this, for the man was so insistent even though he knew his chances were slim even from the start. After all, if the 'adorable' Alistair hadn't gotten properly through, how could he?

Alistair. She hated him with a passion, because she _knew _she was falling for him. She didn't show it, didn't acknowledge it most of the time, but the truth was clear and simple and smacking her in the face like a wet fish. The only reasons she didn't give in was because Alistair was a human of all things, and the Dalish should _never _allow themselves to fall for despicable Shem like him. A second reason was because _something _was pulling her back, something that hid from her view and yet watched her with keen eyes, a longing that was not her own so powerful it stopped her from giving in and made her think on what could possibly be making the longing pit in her stomach the way it had.

She absent-mindedly traces her fingers over the drinking pouch attached to her belt. None of the camp members –except Alistair- had seen the object on her side, and if they had they made no questions about it, for it was clear by looking at the pouch that whatever was inside it was _not _water. The colouring had turned from a yellow to black over the days, and the pouch itself gave off a bluish hue.

Darkspawn blood and Lyrium.

She had saved it for one purpose and one purpose only. The day before the joining she had noticed a presence follow her in the wilds, and it had made her curious, especially when Alistair had said he could sense a tainted creature, one that was neither darkspawn nor human. Curiosity claimed her, and when she had awoken and Alistair and Duncan had left her to herself for a few moments, she had taken the pouch and poured the remnants of the cup she drank from into the pouch.

Alistair had called her an insane, stupid idiot when he found out, and told her that she should pour the blood away at the first chance she got, but she didn't, for _he _couldn't sense the presence that had been following them whereas she could. Lina didn't know why no one else sensed it - especially Alistair- for the presence seemed to have a tint of darkness prickling inside it.

Lina eventually found herself falling asleep on her bedroll for the first time in days, and as she curled up on the thin mat her thoughts drifted straight to the Archdemon. Typical.

The beast stared at her with eyes that weren't quite red, but at the same time they gleamed a golden yellow as they stared at her, daring her to seek it out within its fort of darkspawn. Its body was sleek and long, the scales shining in the green light that seemed to surround it. Lina wanted to move forward in her dream and touch it, and at the simple movement it reared its giant head back and roared fiercely, and Lina found herself wishing badly to wake up in the sheer terror it inflicted.

Wake up she did, Alistair's frantic voice waking her from her slumber as he warned her of the arrival of shrieks that had now surrounded the camp and were coming in from all angles. Her Dar'Misu and Dar'Missan were picked up from their place next to her on the ground and she bolted forward towards the fray that had gathered in the middle of the camp. Shrieks and their alpha attacked, and they all fought, Lina's Dar'Misu running up the length of one shrieks back, before her Dar'Missan found itself slashing the throat of the same shriek.

Alistair smashed into one with his shield with such force it flew backwards, only to have its head crushed by Shale's large stone fists as the golem made a little giggle at the sound. She could hear Leliana shouting that the shrieks would be guided by the maker as she filled them with arrows from her bow, the rogue smirking as each arrow slowed her target down as it tried to reach both her and Alistair.

Wynne and Morrigan both dispatched the Alpha and one other, whereas Zevran and a highly drunk Oghren slashed and tore at the creatures, the latter swinging his axe blindly and still managing to do more damage than Zevran with his critical backstabs.

Once they had all been taken care of, some moved back to their tents and mats, but Lina and Alistair still looked around, sensing the presence of something else. To Alistair it was foreign, but to Lina it was the same thing that had been following her for weeks. She turned swiftly on her heel, pushing her blonde hair from her eyes and locking her eyes on someone stood far away from the tent that he couldn't be seen by unperceptive eyes.

Lina cautiously made her way over to the person, watching curiously as the being clawed at his own face and argued with himself, words like 'can't kill, _must _kill' being uttered every few seconds. They stopped when they heard her approaching, and the being locked eyes with her dark ones and both gasped.

"You... Lethallan... No, you can't see me like this. Go away!" Lina couldn't even whisper his name when the ghoul had ran to the other side of the tents, his sobs being heard briefly by her as she watched him run, shock on her features accompanied with tears. Alistair, who had been next to her, looked shocked at the fact that the woman was crying, for none had seen her do so. He had no time to question her, however, for it had taken only seconds for it to sink in that it was _Tamlen _who had just spoken to her, and she ran after him, almost tripping from the speed and desperation to get there.

"Tamlen, is it really you? By the creators, I'm so sorry..."

"Stay away from me; don't want to hurt you Lethallan..." He muttered, swaying sideways as his human side fought to surface. Lina could see him struggling, and it pained her to watch him suffer the way he was.

"I can help you, Tamlen, just let me try." She was sobbing, tears slowly leaking down her face as she tried to move closer.

"No, no help for me. The voice in my head, it calls to me, he sings to me... The pain, _please _Lethallan!" His true words had gone unspoken, but Lina understood exactly what he was trying to ask her. She couldn't, _wouldn't _kill him, and yet she could hear her companions slowly edging towards them, staves and weapons drawn.

"I- don't ask me to kill you Tamlen, I can't." Pain flashed in both their eyes as she tried to move closer, only a few inches away from him. She had to help him, or at the very least try.

"Then I'll have to make you... Always...Loved you, I'm so sorry!" Lina would have him killed if he begged; maybe she could have done the deed herself had he not said the last two sentences with such sincerity and honesty. She had always loved him, and yet kept it hidden in fear he did not feel the same. And now he had told her along with a request for death? Impossible, for Lina at least.

But her companions had all already advanced, and moving in instinct rather than intellect, her hands moved out forward to jab him sharply and quickly on either side of his neck, stunning him momentarily before spinning the ghoul and whacking him sharply up the back of his head, knocking him out before he had a chance to recover.

Alistair and Zevran advanced with their swords and dagger drawn, ready to strike. Zevran did once, cutting Tamlen's arm sharply, but before Alistair could perform a critical strike Lina does something completely, totally, and utterly stupid.

She throws herself in front Alistair's sword before it can connect with her clanmate.


	2. Would You?

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A/N:

Hey! Thanks to LNicol1990, Jabbering and Rancho Relaxo for the reviews! Here's the next chapter! =3

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_Alistair_

His sword stops mere millimetres away from Lina's arm, the blonde elf having thrown herself directly in the path of the weapon to prevent it hitting the unconscious elf on the floor. If he can even be called an elf, for the taint has reduced him to nothing but a tainted shell. Her arms are spread out as she protects the unconscious body, her entire being showing that she is ready to sacrifice herself to save the ghoul, and Alistair hopes, wishes this is nothing but a dream.

It's not, he realizes, when Zevran puts his daggers back into their sheaths and in turn Lina pulls out her own Dar'Missan and raises that damnable eyebrow of hers. It's a questioning look, a challenging one, yet her dark eyes reflect pleading and begging words that have gone unspoken.

"Don't... Please, don't kill him." Unshed tears are brimming in her eyes and Alistair desperately wants to sheath his sword, but he knows that as long as the ghoul is here, then the darkspawn will be able to pinpoint them from all angles, and that is something he cannot allow.

"Lina, what are you doing?! This ghoul may as well be a darkspawn creature, he's that advanced in his corruption! We've got too much on our hands to drag around a ghoul with us!" His words are harsh and he sees her cringe under them, but behind him he can hear the sliding of swords in sheaths and groans as weapons are thrown over backs, and he hopes to the Maker that he is imagining it. Leliana, however, steps forward, her smooth voice ringing through the thick silence that had descended as the rest of the camp watched the scene unfolding before them.

"What is happening here?" The words are similar to what Wynne would say, and Alistair knows without thinking that Leliana will ultimately side with Lina should things go awry. He takes a step forward, slowly, and in that time Lina draws her Dar'Misu with her other hand and narrows her eyes.

"He may be a ghoul, Alistair, but he's also my friend. Letting him die from something that I think can be curable is out of the question."

"He's a ghoul! You put the entire camp at risk by letting him live!" Alistair hisses, and a defeated look flashes in her eyes, and for a fleeting moment he thinks that she's going to place both her weapons in their sheaths and step away, but she does the opposite.

Slowly, she moves to place the Dar'Misu back, but at the last second she whips her arm out with the Dar'Missan, pushing it down on Alistair's sword before twisting her arm and disarming Alistair, the sword's clanging sound hitting their ears as it skids across the ground.

"Ghoul or not, I will strike you down where you stand should you even try to hurt him, Alistair." And the ferocious glint in her dark eyes shows him that she really will do just that, and he cannot deny that she has the strength to do that. But he still protests even if it is weak. Everyone in camp has moved back to their places, and now only she and him stand there, one unarmed and the other brandishing her sword, aimed at his neck.

"You wouldn't, we're the last of our order Lina, killing me is out of the equation."

"Is it? You really want to test me on that?" She changes her stance, ready to attack and Alistair knows that his next words are useless and futile, but he protests anyway.

"Lina, if you want me to, I'll kill him for you-"

"Killing him is not an option, Alistair!" She yells now, her voice shrill and high as tears stream down her face. He has never seen her cry in the year that they have travelled together, and yet here she is now, stood before him and crying a never-ending flow of tears.

"Look, all we need to do is attack with a critical-"

"Imagine it was Duncan!" She has thrown one sword to the floor and the other is dropped as she balls her fists, a look of desperation and disbelief on her face as she tries to reason with him. These words hit home for Alistair, and he stares at her in shock, trying to comprehend what she is saying.

"If it was Duncan Alistair, if you saw him emerge through the trees tainted and a ghoul, begging for death, what would you do? If you knew somewhere in your heart that you could save him, could you kill him as easily as you would my clanmate?" He wishes some part of him could agree to that, sincerely wishes that if he were in the same situation he would kill Duncan or get another to do so, but he knows deep inside that he would do anything to save the older man. He knows that he would be standing over the unconscious body, ready to fight his companions to the death, and it is this that makes him step down away from Lina and sigh.

"I- you're right. I'm sorry... We should tie him up at least..."

"By all means, for I guess we don't really want a ghoul running rampant..." She grins awkwardly at him as he nods to her, and he opens his pack to get the rope he had placed there in case of emergencies. Not that he classes this as an emergency, but they need the rope.

* * *

_Lina_

She watches the aravel-like object they had created months ago lower a few inches as the still unconscious body of Tamlen is placed under a sheet far enough in that he won't fall out on their way to Redcliffe.

"So... I have a question." Alistair announces to her, and Lina merely rolls her eyes. He doesn't need to inform her of this, he could simply come straight out with the question he wants to ask, and it infuriates her that he doesn't.

"Ask away..." She doesn't realize that she has practically copied him in what she says, but Alistair does and his eyes light up a little at her exhausted answer. Sleep had not claimed her the night before and this shows on her face and in the tones of her voice.

"Right, well... Obviously we have a bit of a problem in the form of an unconscious ghoul. I have a few questions... The first being, if he wakes up how on earth are we going to sustain him? Because I don't fancy the idea of cutting my neck open for him to drink my tainted blood." She doesn't answer at first, instead thinks, for she had thought of many things to do with Tamlen but not of how to deal with the obvious hunger that would surface.

"He's not a vampire, Alistair. The creature with fangs, yeah that's not him. Although I suppose we'll have to find some darkspawn corpse or something, and feed him it. I don't think he'll be okay with normal food." Alistair mutters something under his breath akin to 'captain obvious' but she ignores it, for now. She waits patiently for his next question; her hand weaving through the horse's mane as it struggles trying to pull along the Aravel. At her touch the black animal lightens up a little and presses forward.

"Okay, I suppose. My second question is this: How in the name of the Maker do you propose we help him?" This Lina had thought through, and she turns to look at Alistair properly with a thoughtful look in her eyes.

"He told me yesterday that the Archdemon sings to him. I want to see what happens after we kill it, and before you say anything I know he won't be cured, but I want to see if he becomes less... less demonic. By that I mean he's always fighting with himself to stick to humanity, but when we met Hespith in the deep roads, she didn't have that problem. If it's because of a connection with the fade, then the death of the Archdemon should be enough to make him less hostile..."

"And then?"

"And if it does make him less hostile and demonic, then I suppose I'll have to try and find a way to help him myself. It can be done with abominations; it can be done with him. I think I'll travel to find a cure, and if that doesn't work I'll see if the Grey Wardens at Weisshaupt know anything." Lina nods as she speaks, confirming to herself more than anything that that is her plan. She doesn't know Alistair is thinking of joining her, but may his maker help him if he tries to intervene.

"Why not simply give him the pouch of darkspawn blood that you have on your person?" Alistair asks, pointing to the visible pouch on her hip. "Make him a grey warden."

"No." Short, quick and sharp, her answer stuns him for a moment as he cocks his head to the side and wonders why she won't. And then he asks.

"Why not?"

"There is only a small chance of survival at _any _joining, and I want to be absolutely sure that there is no other option before I hand him a cup that decides if he lives or dies." Lina moves her hand from the horse and absent-mindedly watches as Zevran flirts horrifically with Wynne, asking if he can place his head on her bossom.

"But it could take years to find some way to cure this taint!"

"Years I am willing to wait, even if it takes me all across Thedas to find a cure!" Her tone shuts Alistair up, and he crosses his arms over his chest as he walks and reminds Lina oddly of a sulking child. A tall, sulking child.

The rest of the journey to Redcliffe from the Circle Tower goes smoothly with no more arguments, only joking conversation. Then Alistair tells Lina that he is actually the only remaining heir to the throne. And she slaps him.

Twice.


	3. Pain

**A/N: **Hey! Thanks so much to Black Mage Wannabe, LNicol1990 and MukLuk for the reviews! =3

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_Tamlen_

He's not sure he wants to wake up, not if everything he had experienced in his small patch of humanity had actually been real. His head hurts, echoes of whispers of songs and tunes and a vicious roar reverberates in the back of his pounding head willing him to get up and give in already. But he won't, can't, _shouldn't _for something is still pulling him back as everyday goes on, and as the days fly by the pain only gets worse.

The Archdemon will not give up one of its own so easily, and if physical and mental pain is what the god has to resort to when his call fails, then he will do what is necessary. And the call, to him, it is so pure and lulling and sweet that Tamlen really wants to give in at times, desperately wishes to avoid the pain and take his place in the horde of darkspawn, but the thought of _her_ will flash and surfaces his humanity. The Archdemon knows this, and perhaps that is why he sent him in charge of the Shriek pack, knowing that he would either die or kill when it came to _her_.

Blood reaches his nostrils, the scent floating lazily through the air as Tamlen tries to sit up from his position, but his hands are tied, a sheet draped over his head and the entire area where he lays, so sitting up is not the option for the day. Instead he turns his head to look at the source of the scent he has grown accustomed to, and groans at the irony; the very shriek he had commanded in his drug-like haze lay dead and lifeless next to him, likely to be used as a food source for him and him alone.

He almost wills for the haze to come back, to stop the unbearable white-hot pain that is coursing through his aching body as he resists the call to give in and join, and although no wounds are on his body, the Archdemons hold over his mind is enough to make him feel like he's being cut up by millions of daggers as the thought of humanity tries to pull him through the crushing darkness that holds him.

He's failed –at least, that's likely what the Archdemon thinks – but to him he's passed and gotten through, although he had thought he would die, not wake up tied, bound and aching with _her _voice in the background. He listens to it, smiles as he hears her talking rapidly to another male, talking about 'putting up camp' and 'making sure he doesn't wake up and if he does, try and surface his humanity' and he's certain that it is _his_ Lethallan talking about him and the fact she cares somewhat surfaces a fragile and forgotten feeling. One he forgets when another rush of pain hits him and tries to make him scream.

Tamlen looks down at what he is laying on and attempts to move his hands to make him more comfortable for what he knows is coming. He's not perfect, and this time he starts to regret many things as pain courses through him one last time before the haze takes over, his humanity stopping its tough fight to break through the surface and letting the rage and darkness take over instead. He tells himself that he's not technically giving in, for he still has minimum control, but this time he's not so sure.

* * *

_Lina_

"Will you shut up!?" Lina hisses, completely oblivious to her own ignorance in her outburst, although said outburst seemed to have its desired effect. Teagan looks looked reasonably shocked at her words, although she can see and hear him desperately trying to stifle laughter as Isolde immediately stops talking and opens and closes her mouth like a fish. Irving too looks surprised, although he holds himself with a bit more grace than Teagan, who has to receive a stern look from Ser Perth to cease his oncoming giggles.

"Lina..." Alistair warns her, and she tries to block out the disappointment in his voice since she really hates Isolde at this moment. The woman had been whining and moaning on how she didn't want Irving to hurt her son in the fade and it had irritated Lina up until the point where she _has _to shut the bitch up one way or another.

"What? Are you telling me you can actually stand this woman talk about how her family needs to be safe? I'm sorry, but I can't, for it is her own stupid bloody fault this happened in the first place!" Lina hisses, and she cannot stop the harshness in her voice nor the pride that surfaces when Teagan nods in agreement despite the protests that his sister-in-law gives.

"How dare you! You are nothing but an elf, you do not understand the way that-" Alistair groans when Lina raises her hand with a glare so fierce that Isolde herself shuts up, and everyone in the room turns to watch the young elf explode at Isolde. She does, but not in the way that everyone is expecting. Instead her voice is calm; a smirk on her face as she crosses her arms and looks up at the woman.

"Yes Lady Isolde, I am an elf. You obviously have sharp vision. May I also say that I am a Dalish Elf? I kidnap small human children when I see them, I slaughter every human that crosses my path, I'm barbaric and my kind keep apostates and maleficarum hidden from the Chantry. I've _never _been taught the way of the people who fear us, and I have no idea how politics works. Forgive me then, for saying that it is _you _who screwed up when it is so clearly _not your_ fault that corpses ravaged your castle."

Lina cocks her head to the side with a truly mocking innocent look on her face, although the sarcasm in her voice is practically dripping through the layers. Morrigan smirks, Alistair wishes to smack his face off the nearest wall, Teagan finds that he cannot hold back his laughter any longer and even Ser Perth struggles to keep a straight face. Wynne clucks disapprovingly, although keeps quiet when Irving throws her a look. Isolde looks like someone has just slapped her across the face, and seeing as Lina had spoken every word with a drop of sarcasm and hatred, she may as well have been.

"But Lady Isolde, before I take my leave, I have a small question. Would you and your husband and your entire village still be living, if not for me, the elf who knows nothing?" Lina raises her eyebrow that seems to win every argument of hers, before she stalks out the castle entrance. None follow her, as she expects, instead they stay inside to make sure that everything goes smoothly and she is sure that Alistair would leave for the camp to inform her of any changing events.

She stands around the courtyard, pacing quickly backwards and forwards whilst cursing loudly, and she's sure that the guards at their posts at the door are entertained by this. Lina takes out her Dar'Missan and Dar'Misu, walks towards the practice dummy in the corner and proceeds to hack away at it, imagining blonde hair and a whiny voice as she brings her weapons down repeatedly on the wood.

Lina doesn't hear Alistair approach, which is unusual due to her sensitive hearing, and so she squeaks and drops her sword when his loud voice is heard right next to her left ear. All previous annoyance has faded, which is shown by the splinters of wood surrounding the dummy, and Alistair raises an eyebrow before speaking.

"Isolde wishes for me to tell you that she's extremely sorry and guilty about the way she treat you earlier, and claims she shouldn't have turned to a racist remark to shut you up..." Alistair's words are said cautiously as he tries to catch Lina's reaction, and she raises the damned eyebrow at him again, leaning down to pick up her Dar'Missan.

"What does she want from me?" She asks, smoothly with no hesitation, no time for thinking. Alistair looks surprised at her answer, looking at her curiously with his head cocked to the side.

"Why do you assume she wants anything?" Lina scoffs harshly, turning to hack away at the dummy once more.

"Alistair, she's a human. Humans will only ever apologize to us elves when they want something. Otherwise an apology is unexpected, because to you humans we are elves and elves only, never to be classed as actual people." Alistair allows a brief look of disappointment to shimmer on his face before answering.

"You-you don't _really _think that, do you? Not all humans are like that, _I'm _not like that." He sounds hurt, and the noise is satisfying to Lina's ears, even if it makes her a little guilty.

"Yes Alistair, I really think that. But we elves are the same, at least the Dalish are. We –elves and humans alike- would not apologize to the scum we find on the bottom of our boots, would we? Hmm? But you didn't answer my question. What does she want from me?" Her tone is so matter-of-fact that Alistair is stunned for a moment, wondering if this was exactly how all Dalish elves thought. If it was, he isn't sure if he should pity or hate them. Yet at the same time he knows deep down that half the people in Ferelden would agree with her.

"She wants us – you – to go looking for the Urn of Sacred ashes... She sent knights to Denerim who haven't returned, but she says you should try Genetivi's house. Apparently it's the only way to save Arl Eamon, and we _have_ to help him, Lina." His tone changes towards the end of his words, pleading lacing through his voice, because he owes everything to Arl Eamon and cannot simply allow him to die when he knows the Urn can help. He finds himself inwardly groaning at the irony of things, for Lina has similar motives and reasons for saving her clanmate.

"Fine."

"What?!" Alistair clearly didn't expect her to say yes so quickly, and she smirks at the look on his face as she puts both blades in their respective sheaths and sighs.

"I said _'fine'_. I'll look for this Urn of Sacred Ashes, but let her know that she is lucky I have an alternative reason for seeking it out, otherwise I'd be telling her to look for the damn thing herself." Alistair nods gratefully at this, turning to run back through the courtyard to the castle. Lina turns herself, making her way back towards camp, only to collide with a blur of grey armour and red hair, and she's ready to beat whoever has toppled her to the ground within an inch of their lives until she realizes that the red blur is giggling and _on top _of her.

"_Leliana_!"

"Oops! Sorry!" Leliana giggles before pulling herself up off Lina, holding her hand out for Lina to grasp. Lina takes it, dusting herself off and glaring at the redhead as the woman puts on a straight face, panting slightly from her obvious run to the castle.

"Why are you up here? Shouldn't you be at camp?"

"That's why I'm here, Lin, your friend, he's woken up. I left the camp at the point when Oghren was trying to tie him up again for attempting to eat Zevran." A small giggle escapes Leliana's lips at the last few words, and Lina herself struggles not to laugh at the image of Tamlen trying to gnaw the other blondes arm off.

"Well _damnit._"


	4. Ashes of Andraste

**A/N:** Thanks to LNicol1990, Serenbach and Mercuryflower for the reviews! =3 I changed the Gauntlet dialogue for obvious reasons xD I hope you guys like this chapter!

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_Party Camp_

She laughs as she run down the hill towards the camp, Leliana shortly behind her and chasing her even as they are on their way to address a serious situation. She skids to a small halt when an arrow flies past her, and as she turns she gasps when Leliana puts her bow back on her back and speeds past her, and Lina smirks and raises an eyebrow, trying to look unimpressed. But the utter joy and laughter on Leliana's face makes her giggle, and they continue down the road and out the gates to Redcliffe village, past the stream and back into camp, Leliana jumping over a log and sitting next to a drunken Oghren.

Lina smirks at the scowling Zevran when she manages to stop herself from falling face first in the mud, although her eyes seek out her clanmate and she frowns to see him asleep again next to Bodahn's wagon. Her eyes move to Oghren, who merely smiles and holds up a bottle of ale.

Cursing his stupidity, Lina moves towards the sleeping Tamlen, who wakes before she has shook his shoulders to attempt to wake him up. He winces at her touch, dark, corrupted eyes full of sadness and horror before it disappears to be replaced with anger and rage as the corrupted part of him realizes that she is his quarry. It is a good thing his hands are tied, for she's sure that the feral part of him would be clawing at her face right now. Zevran looms up behind her, accent thick as he talks.

"He bit me. Look, right on my arm." It's unusual to see the elf acting so fussy, so as Lina places both her hands down on Tamlen's knees to stop him from kicking her, she retorts rather quickly.

"Oh stop your whining, Zev. You enjoyed it, you know you did." Lina doesn't see the smirk rise onto the man's face, but she damn well hears it in his voice when he speaks again.

"My dear, I am shocked you would say such a thing. I'm not sure if I _did _enjoy it... Indeed, we should test that theory."

"Indeed we should, Zev. I believe we should let Tamlen loose, so he can bite you somewhere a little bit below the belly button." It's not the response Zevran expects, nor the one Lina expected to leave her own lips, but they both chuckle as Lina turns to shake Tamlen again, desperately trying to surface some of his humanity.

It doesn't surface, and Lina steadily gets more desperate as she stares into his blank eyes as he thrashes and kicks and almost screams trying to yank his wrists out of her hold. In a last moment attempt, Lina lets go of him momentarily before moving behind him, wrapping her arms tightly around his own to stop him from flailing them, her legs going over his hips and clamping down over his knees to stop them kicking. He's trapped, no way to move his arms or legs and he slowly stops struggling once he realizes that he can't even move his hips the hold she has him in is that tight.

Lina doesn't realize she's crying floods of tears until Wynne moves over to her and gently wipes them from her face since Lina cannot do so, for her hands are clasped over Tamlen's wrists she can't bank on him not struggling to get away.

"You really care for him, don't you?" Wynne asks as she tucks a small braid of Lina's hair behind her ear and sits down next to her and a stiffened Tamlen. Wynne knows that the ghoul has stopped his feeble, weak attempts at getting free to listen, and there's a certain level of curiosity behind his eyes that Lina cannot see due to her position yet Wynne can see it clearly. She also knows that Tamlen isn't fighting as hard as he can to get away, for his fatigue isn't even partly drained and yet he struggles like he's got nothing left in him.

"I more than 'really care' Wynne, He's my clanmate and childhood best friend. I'm refusing to let him simply die, not after all he's done for me in the past." Lina sees Alistair and Morrigan finally arrive back at camp, both of them arguing and protesting, and this makes Lina laugh a little despite the task that they now have in front of them.

After a few minutes, Lina removes the ties around Tamlen's wrists, cursing when she sees the bruises that have formed due to the tightness that Oghren tied them. She keeps the thought to spike the dwarfs drink in mind, before pressing her fingers lightly over the bruises to discover that there's small cuts here and there all over the wrists and insides of his palm, and she tuts at him and motions for Wynne to pass a small health poultice over to her.

Tamlen has completely stopped wriggling now, and Lina wonders if he's actually there, or if the ghoul part is still surfaced and merely plotting the best moment to attack and get out.

"You know, I told you countless times before that clenching your fists till you bleed and scratching in frustration was stupid. But you're always content to never listen to me, aren't you?" She chuckles fondly, taking the bandage from Wynne and wrapping it around his wrists. It's hard for her to do considering she's still behind him, but Wynne helps her somewhat by wrapping one of his wrists up in the bandage.

"I take it he injures himself often?" Lina looks up for a moment, and an awkward smile flitters on her face before she smirks a little.

"Not intentionally. If he'd get angry when we would go hunting, or if he got frustrated he'd clench his fists so hard he'd draw blood, or start clawing at himself to stem his anger. I got him to stop eventually, but it seems that he started to do it again." Lina tuts again, before she takes the ropes and ties them over Tamlen's wrists tightly, but they're certainly not as bad or tight as they were before.

Wynne watches as Lina sadly takes one last look at the bonds on her clanmate's wrists, before she moves her arms and her legs, her thighs aching from the bones of Tamlen's hips on the muscle when she had tried to stop him struggling. She knows he has eaten, for the shriek that they had left in the aravel had all but disappeared. She helps Wynne up when she herself has stood up, and the two make their way back towards the main camp to watch Alistair argue with Leliana over the stew.

The bard is insisting that Alistair stops making the 'same old bloody stew' whereas Alistair is complaining that the woman needs to appreciate good food when it's placed in front of her. Neither of them notice Zevran placing a few spices into the pot, nor do they notice him stealing pieces of lamb and passing it to Rinoa who whines happily when the meat is given to him. Lina sighs, shaking her head at them and retreating to her tent to mull over the events of the past few weeks.

They've picked up a dwarf who proves to be useful and humorous, they've realized that Alistair is actually a bastard-prince, she's been prepared to kill every single one of her companions should they try to hurt her clanmate, and now to top it all off she's got to search for an ancient relic for a human.

Fun.

* * *

_Lina_

Lina steps forward with ease, covered in blood from answering _one _of the damned riddles wrong and having to fight the damned wraiths. She curses, wondering how the _hell _a question on hunger was related to Andraste. The door swings open at her touch, allowing her entrance into the next chamber and to face the next test. It takes a moment for her to recognize –from the back- the blonde hair and thin stature stood in the middle of the next chamber. When he turns to face her with a smile on his face, Lina is shocked and surprised, still not sure if she's really seeing him for she's been so used to a bald, dark-skinned and upset Tamlen for the past two months.

"It's so cold here, sister. Do you feel it?" A quick troubled look flits on his face before being replaced with one of curiosity as he watches Lina's reaction. She's unsure what to say, for the man standing before her looks so much like Tamlen, and yet so different.

"Is it really you?" He smiles a little at this, shaking his head.

"You think, this cannot be Tamlen, Tamlen is gone, he is only footsteps in the dust. I am Tamlen, and yet I am not. I am part of the gauntlet, and part of you. But I am not as far gone as you are dreading and thinking, my friend. Follow not your instincts but your own heart, and the way away from darkness will soon be clear." Lina looks a little taken aback at this, and she slowly reaches her hand out to touch Tamlen's shoulder, feeling solid muscle and bone but at the same time feeling nothing but a shimmery veil that drapes its way under her hand, preventing her from _really _feeling anything.

"I- I wish I'd _done _something to help you, searched for longer, or pulled you away from the damn mirror or _something_." She half shouts, half whispers, and Tamlen merely shakes his head at her, pulling a long silver cord from mid-air as Lina tries hard not to cry. It's a rare sight to see the woman go through so many emotions at once.

"Some things lost can never be found, some mistakes never unmade. Those that survive _must _go on living. You have suffered enough, thinking you could have done something. It's time to leave that behind. Take this; it is nothing compared to the crafts of our fathers, but it should serve you well. Look at it in the times that you lose hope, and it should give you the will to press forward. I wish you well, my friend, it will be a while before _we _meet again." The amulet is dropped into her hand, the more of the silver chain touching her skin the more Tamlen fades, until he disappears from her view leaving only her with the warm necklace that is covered with her clenched fists.

Wynne places a comforting hand on her shoulder as her other companions remain silent, unsure if they should speak or not. This silence stretches right up until Lina stops directly in front of the altar and begins to study the runes carefully. She can hear Alistair and Zevran argue on whether or not they should go outside and get some snow, or if Wynne should freeze the flames, and Zevran scoffs saying that it obviously won't work. She's already naked and on the other side by the time they realize that they have to do the same. Zevran and Wynne oblige and take their clothes off straight away, the blonde elf eyeing up Wynne's bossom to make her squirm.

Alistair looks nervous for a moment before doing the same, and the guardian appears out of nowhere directly behind her, smiling. She's not listening when he talks about how she has been cleansed, instead waits for an opening to speak. It comes, and Lina wastes no chances.

"What are the chances of the Ashes healing someone with darkspawn corruption?"

"Little to none. At best the ashes of our blessed Andraste would lessen the effect up to the point where only the calling will remain. Only one has ever become immune to the calling. Now go, take some pinches from the Urn, and may Andraste guide you."

The Guardian disappears just as quickly as he had came, and both Lina and Alistair are left confounded by his words. They have not been told that someone has become immune to the calling, nor did they know such a thing was even possible. It fills Alistair's head with questions and Lina's with hope as they each take a pinch of ashes for their respective persons, before leaving out the temple doors and back to the mountain-side.


	5. Change

**A/N:** Hey! Thanks to LNicol1990, Serenbach and StrawberryViking for the reviews! =3 I hope you all like this chapter!

* * *

_Lina_

They watch like hawks as she pulls the drawstring on the pouch, and Lina suddenly feels under pressure at their gaze. She turns, raises her eyebrow and gives them a pointed look. Sten, Shale, Oghren, Morrigan and Zevran all back off, but Leliana, Wynne anfd Alistair keep watching. Rinoa merely sits guard next to Tamlen, and he's at the midpoint between biting and licking the male elf. Tamlen himself eyes the dog warily; his eyes switch from mild fear to a competitive look, as his darker side dares the dog to lunge at him. The ahses may change that, she thinks, but they may not. They've healed Eamon already; one down and one to go.

There's a small tap on her shoulder and an offered vial which Lina takes, before she moves slowly to Tamlen and kneels down in front of him. He's looking down when she approaches, and the sight makes her heart clench. Her free hand moves to lift his chin up so he has no choice to look her in the eyes, and the pain behind the dark orbs that were once blue is evident enough to make her sigh in her own pain.

"Tamlen, I'm not sure if you can actually hear me, because I really don't know how this works. Am I always talking to you, or does some feral part take over and talk for you whilst your elven mind has no choice but to sit back and watch the things I say? I'm going to need you to drink something either way, something that may help you. Don't _make _me force it down your throat, please..." She tips the drawstring pouch into the vial, the dark ashes of Andraste landing at the bottom and seeming to glow in the dark lighting of the camp. She hears Wynne cast a small spell, and the ashes turn from powder to a golden liquid, this time emitting a glow so strong that it makes the pale skin on her hands glow yellow as she holds the vial.

"N-no..." His voice is croaky and weak as he eyes the liquid, shrinking away from it since it is the very opposite of what he is now. It is pure and holy, and he is corrupted and hated. Lina holds the vial towards him, careful in case he decides that knocking it out of her hand would be a good idea. And clanmate or no, she is _not _prepared to enter the gauntlet again.

"Listen to me Tamlen... Do you remember when we were eleven years of age, and we made that promise to each other? Can you remember what I'm talking about? I'm prepared to fulfil that, always have been and wanted to even if we'd never made it. But _I need you_ to drink this." Lina winces at even bringing the memory up, knowing that it is a discussion for another time in different circumstances, and not to be used as a bribe. It works, however, as Tamlen hesitantly takes the vial, his hands shaking madly as his humane part tries to take over the feral, darker and he quickly downs the ashes before his dark side attempts to spit them out.

They all watch, waiting, expecting some miraculous change to happen and Lina half hopes he'll change entirely back to normal and have her laughing with a confused look in seconds. But it doesn't happen. He merely stares at the floor, expression pained before his feral instincts kick back in and Lina is forced to tie his hands together again tightly, light tears trickling slowly down her face all the while. Alistair scoffs and walks away, clearly annoyed that she even tried, Leliana helps to tie his wrists and Wynne places a hand comfortingly on her shoulder, whispering that it'll work out soon enough.

And for a few hours after that, there's no change. It's not Lina's turn to take watch, so she slips into dreams of what she had hoped would happen, of what she wanted before this mess even started and wakes up embarrassed and cursing herself for thinking such things. The embarrasment doesn't lessen when Alistair comes bursting into her tent at six on the morning watch whilst she is half-naked, and the human rushes out whilst she hops around on one foot trying to put her armour back on and hide the mortification that has surely spread on her face.

She sends the human a glare when she leaves her tent, tying the clasps of her Dalish Armour hurriedly as she nearly trips. Alistair goes red in equal embarrassment when she steps towards him, annoyance on her face.

"What, Alistair, was so important that you felt the need to burst into my tent whilst I was dressing?" Leliana chokes on her breakfast at this, and Oghren pats her on the back whilst chortling himself, drunk as always if the smell is anything to go by. Wynne looks amused, Sten does not, and Zevran raises a suggestive eyebrow and then waggles it at Alistair.

"I-I um... Sorry... But your friend... Something _happened _to him. I'd have never pegged him for a blond." The last part isn't supposed to be heard by Lina, for Alistair had started to mutter to himself in something akin to surprise. She doesn't even listen to the rest of his ramble as she turns and runs to the area near Bodahn's wagon and the small pond, Wynne and Alistair close behind her until she skids to a stop, the latter smashing right into her and muttering a cursing apology.

If she had been on watch duty or a member of their camp and seen him standing next to the pool like this, she'd have likely killed him for being a spy or intruder. But they all knew it could only be him, and Lina feels her mouth drop open in a _highly _unattractive way, and hears Wynne gasp and Alistair mutter a 'I still can't believe he's _blond_' behind her.

In the space of one night after being fed the ashes, Tamlen appears somewhat normal. He's way too skinny for her liking, though that is likely because of his darkspawn corruption. His hair that had grown back somewhat in the two months he had spent with them has turned from the corrupted colour back to dark blond, although a few dark strands streak through his hair. His skin isn't as pale as it used to be and it's covered with blotches that look like bruises, a big sign that that darkspawn corruption is still there. His eyes are still blue as he looks at her, although they're bloodshot and tired, dark rings under the sockets.

She doesn't even _want _to say anything, scared that the image she has now will be shattered if he's still suffering with a dark personality. And he doesn't need to say anything, for the flicker of darkness that flits in his blue iris's shows that he isn't completely back to normal and is still struggling, and she almost wants to sink to the ground and cry, despite the fact that she should be insanely relieved.

He stiffens somewhat when she moves closer, and his face turns into one of pain as one half of him wants to rip off her face and the other wants to say _something _but he's not sure if his own voice has returned or if it is still a weak croak.

Lina raises her arm to touch his shoulder, barely a hairs breadth away from him, and she doesn't touch him at all, instead lets her hand fall to her side as a huge wave of guilt, happiness, relief, shock and surprise takes over and she cries for the fifth time in the past few months, resisting the urge to embrace him and instead stepping backwards until she reaches her tent, covering her face with her hands as she cries.

None of her companions try to move her; instead letting her cry on Wynne up until Alistair tells her three hours later that they need to venture into the Dalish camp that is supposedly an hour south from the camp. And the thought of seeing her own kin raises her spirits greatly, the feeling of going _home _settling into her mind.

* * *

She flicks through the book quickly, searching for the closest blank page she can find. It may have been a gift, but when she finds the page she needs she rips it from the cover and throws the book to the side, moving to the campfire and smiling at the hahren.

"Sarel, I seek your assistance. You wouldn't, by any chance, happen to have a quill and ink pot on you, would you?" Sarel nods and moves around the keeper's aravel, returning with the items she needed, and Lina turns to look pointedly at Alistair. The human raises an eyebrow at her, confused until she roughly turns him around and uses his back as a desk to write a letter. He's even annoyed that she makes him hold the ink too. They stand there for a few minutes, the only sound being the background chatter of the Dalish and Lina's quill scratching quickly against the pages of the book.

She writes of everything she has done so far, of the challenge they now have and of other certain obligations that concern her clan that she's certain Marethari would want to hear about. Alistair starts to fidget and her words merge together on the paper, so she sighs, folds it up and then writes _Marethari_ neatly on the surface and moves over to the messenger, agitated that she can't finish it due to Alistair.

"Messenger! You are going to try and find my clan, yes?" The messenger looks up at her and smiles, and she knows immediately that he is because she recognizes his face from the numerous times the clans had passed, and knows that he is the same one who always ventures to them with messages for them from other members of this clan.

"Yes. I am going to try and find your clan and make them aware of the treaty we have signed and lived up to. We will need many skilled hunters, and your clan is the closest and easiest for me to find. Would you like me to pass on a message?" She smiles at this, nods, and hands him the folded paper, before speaking again.

"Please hand this to Marethari, and tell her that once this blight is over, I will not be able to return directly to my clan. Let her know that I have something else to tend to before I return home." The messenger nods and then leaves, and Lina is left with just her and Alistair, Leliana and Morrigan having returned to the camp a while ago.

"I never knew the Dalish could write." Alistair mutters, a thoughtful look on his face as they walk back to the camp. Lina raises an unimpressed eyebrow at this, turning slightly to face him as the walk.

"Do you think us nothing but barbarians? Mindless hunters who don't take the time to read or write because then they would be taking time away from their shem-killing duties?"

"I- no! That's- you know I didn't mean it like that!" Alistair stutters, his hands out in a defensive position in case she strikes him. Lina merely rolls her eyes and starts to walk faster.

"I know. But I will not attempt to dissuade your feelings and thoughts when you have been raised with the information that we are barbarians." There's a resigned tone to her voice, but Alistair doesn't even notice it, instead brushes off her comment and tries to get her to talk in a less deadly way.

"So, now that the Ashes didn't work on Tamlen... what are you going to do now?"

"We're going to try and stop the blight and kill the Archdemon, and see if the lack of its call does any good, seeing as that seems to be the thing that's keeping a hold on him. And if that doesn't work, I'm going to go looking for whoever that person is who is immune to the calling. If he or she was a Grey Warden, then there's obviously a cure."

They walk the rest of the way in silence, pausing only at the entrance when Lina spies Zevran leaving a tent almost completely naked. Before she can ask however, Rinoa runs past with Zevran's leather armour hanging from his mouth. Alistair's voice cuts through the silence that seems to have descended upon the entire camp as they stare at either the floor or naked Zevran.

"I don't even want to _ask_"


	6. Dragon

**A/N:** Hey! Thanks to LNicol1990 and StrawberryViking for the reviews!

* * *

_Lina_

"I-I can't believe that that shrew is my _sister_." Lina ignores Alistair, for his constant voiced disbelief is starting to grate at her nerves, and by the creators her nerves are thinning steadily. She convinces herself that it's only a few more minutes until they'll be back at the Denerim gates and out to camp, they only have to cross the market now after leaving the Alienage, and then she can rest and fix her nerves. Preferably with something that contains a _lot _of alcohol.

"By the creators Alistair, get over it! Everyone in this world is out for themselves, even in the most trivial of matters. You need to learn this, lest you wish to be the one who is manipulated time and time again for doing the _right _thing!" Lina herself doesn't believe this, but it seems to do the job as Alistair immediately shuts up, nods, and continues walking behind her, and Lina can now hear Leliana and Zevran chuckling in the background at her outburst.

It's only when she returns to the camp and she sits in thought does she realize something. Everyone here, they have people they hate, people they love, and people they've lost. However, Alistair's family is the one thing that confuses her to no ends.

The words she had spoken earlier she did not mean, and she knows not why she said it. After all, families were supposed to respect and accept each other without a doubt. Surely, if she'd had a brother or sister in a different clan that she did not know of, then that person would very likely accept her and wish to get to know her.

She's pondering this for a good hour before Alistair finally moves to sit next to her, his eyes locking with her dark ones questioningly.

"Careful, a band of darkspawn could have attacked us and I'm not sure you'd notice... What's up?" Lina debates whether she should speak or not, but instead answers with her thoughts.

"You humans... You are curious things. You have a relative, your own blood, and yet she treated you like you were darkspawn blood on her walls. Why would she do that?" Lina rests her head in her hands, looking up sideways at Alistair in confusion. Alistair sighs at her question, turns slightly to face her, and then picks his words carefully.

"I- well, my birth was somewhat bad for her. I mean, she lost her mother because of my birth and ended up having to fend for herself. Her life could have been much better if not for me." He thinks this is reasonable, yet Lina has a counter answer.

"My mother died shortly after giving birth to me, grief took over her and demanded she take her final rest next to my father. It was my father's wish that they meet up in secret, and therefore my father's fault that my mother died. But if my mother had another child in her clan, then I have no doubts that any half sibling of mine would welcome me with open arms, for it was my parents' mistakes and not my own. So why must your own sister do this exact same thing? I do not understand it; you are kin, so why do you shun each other?" She's on the verge of repeating herself now, and even if this does not go unnoticed by Alistair, he doesn't acknowledge it.

"Hm... Well, we're humans. We have no real _need_ to get along; we can survive very well without each other. But you are a Dalish, there are so few of your people left in Ferelden that you need to cooperate in order to save your race from dying out."

"I- I..." Alistair watches as Lina's shoulders sag completely, her face paling slightly as she looks completely put out at his words. "I- Is that really how it works? All the people I have grown to love in other clans, do they all only pretend to care about me and each other because that is the only way to survive? Do they- have they ever really cared?" She sighs and watches Oghren attempt to drunkenly flirt with Zevran -likely having no idea what he's doing- and she suppresses a giggle when Zevran coyly twirls the Dwarf's beard around his finger and the dwarf hits realization. Zevran only nearly misses the axe that aims for him.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Alistair asks her, and his voice cuts through the small wall of silence that she has momentarily put up to think.

"By all means, go for it."

"Why do you always insist we come back to camp? There's always an inn nearby for us to stay in, and even now we could stay in Arl Eamon's estate, yet you take us back to camp. Why is that?" Lina looks a little surprised at this question, raises her eyebrow and answers.

"I just don't like being inside. I've grown up with no ceiling whatsoever, apart from the roof of a tent. Being inside, it makes me feel like I'm in a cage. Next question."

"A few weeks ago, to make Tamlen take the ashes, you told him you wanted to keep to a promise. What was that promise?" Again, Lina looks little more than surprised, and she leans forwards and rests her elbows on her knees, a grin creeping on her face. She looks somewhat shy, her eyes playful as she regards his question.

"I- we Dalish have old traditions, although one is not too dissimilar to human traditions. When we're born, we are 'paired' for lack of a better word. You do not _have _to marry your other half unless you are both unmarried at thirty years of age. Tamlen and I, we were told our respective pairs at twelve years old, although _why _they thought we were mature enough to be told I don't know, seeing as we were still tipping beetles into the camp stew every other evening. I was paired with Fenarel, and Tamlen with an Elven girl named Al'Serra. _I _was fine with the idea of marrying Fenarel if it came to it, Tamlen was not."

"Not happy that you'd be marrying someone else, or not happy with the other half of his pair?" Alistair asks, curiosity peaked as he looks over at the blonde elf who is standing near the pond again, staring blankly into the water and twitching every so often.

"Both, I think. Mainly with the latter, for Al'Serra was... not a nice girl. She tended to be the one to inform Marethari of our latest exploits. Back to your question we, perhaps foolishly and to make a point, promised Marethari that we 'would not be forced to marry such idiots and instead would marry each other.' They dropped the pairing's after that. I only agreed because at the time I got distracted by Merrill attempting to sneak into Marethari's tent _and _Tamlen was threatening to tell Marethari that it was me who poured the aphrodisiac into the Halla's water trough." The look of horror on Alistair's face is enough to make her laugh, and Lina topples off the back of the log as Alistair splutters.

"You poured _what _into _where_?"

"We- we stole a very powerful aphrodisiac from the Keepers tent and poured it into the Halla's water trough. Maren was far from amused and Marethari warned that whoever did it would be severely punished. I don't know why though, that year was the year when the most Halla calves were born." Alistair is thoroughly disturbed by this, and Lina doesn't bother to tell him that only two more Halla were born, and likely not a result of the aphrodisiac.

"I- oh that is disgusting. I so do not need that mental image in my head." Alistair shakes his head as if doing so will tip whatever image he has out, and Lina's laughter carries across the camp so loudly that even Morrigan looks up in annoyance.

Her eyes look over to Tamlen, who has heard the conversation and is watching her, a brief flash of remembrance in his eyes and a smirk on his face, before he turns again to the pond and Lina sighs.

She starts to wonder if she really _can _save him.

* * *

There are cuts and bruises all over her, bones are broken and limbs are weak, some festering and others refusing to stem their blood flow. Three long gashes mar her face just under her left eye, and her right eye is blackened from the start of a bruise. Her armour is torn on the left side, blood pouring from a wound that lays above three broken ribs that are the result of a dragon pawing at her. It did not wish to kill either of them directly, for one blow would have been enough to kill her. She knows it wanted to torture those who are both its kin and enemy, and a broken right arm and a wound on her neck prove this.

Morrigan throws a poultice towards her at the first chance she gets, and Lina almost drops the salve onto the Ballista after the Archdemon falls to the ground, the ground shaking under the weight as the dying dragon tries to feebly lift its head and fight. It can't, and the four of them take the last few seconds they can to catch their breath and apply any poultices they need before one of them takes the final blow. After all, they're not too sure that Morrigan's ritual will work, although the witch seems confident as she awkwardly places a hand on Lina's shoulder. Wynne hugs her, and Alistair nods respectfully, and this forces a laugh from her throat as she winces at Wynne's minor healing spell.

"Come on, I'm not going to die. At least, I hope not. We came this far, I'll see it through to the end." She smiles at the three of them, trying to resist the urge to throw up, because she's not too sure if this ritual will work, and although she's felt like she's been walking to her death many times before, this time is oddly different.

Lina turns on her heel and eyes the darkspawn who are protecting their master. A conveniently placed greatsword sticks out of the back of a rotting darkspawn corpse, and Lina runs towards it, dodging darkspawn and resisting the pinning shot that is aimed for her leg as she uses all of her strength to pull the sword from the body without stopping.

The Archdemon raises its head when it hears her approaching, her footsteps loud on the stone floor, her grunts piercing the solemn silence that has descended. Lina almost feels sorry for it, watches as its head hits the floor again in defeat, the terrible creature looking vulnerable and lost as she gets closer and closer, before she lets out a loud roar and brings the sharp end of the sword down directly in between the dragons eyes.

With a high pitched sound that Lina's not sure is real or not, a thin and nearly invisible tainted line seems to connect Lina to the dragon, a golden light moving down it as the soul of the Archdemon tries to invade her body. She's filled with dread when the pain takes over, blinding white-hot and oddly comforting, as two souls battle to take control of her body. One soul is dark, tainted, bitter and cold, the other warm, bright, pure and loving. The warm side is losing, fading out through her skin and blood as the second soul tries to settle, the pain so horrible and tight that it goes beyond the capabilities of her senses.

Quickly, in almost an instant the Archdemon's soul seems to double take, letting go of its bonds in her body quite suddenly, seeming to turn around inside her like a dog being called by its master. As slowly as it had invaded the soul leaves, being drawn by something invisible, and Lina breathes a sigh of relief at the realization that Morrigan's ritual had worked.

Darkness blurs at her vision as she lets go of the greatsword, falling backwards through a seemingly endless chasm and finally moving to the fade when her head connects to the stone floor with a crack.


	7. Carriage

**A/N**: Hey! Thanks to LNicol1990 and Shrimp Chip for the reviews! =3

* * *

_Lina_

"That does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it? No, I think I'll just shrug and look stupid. It should work, it's a _talent_." Alistair mutters, a grin on his face when Lina crosses her arms over her chest and raises an eyebrow.

"Fine, fine, say what you wish. But if they then turn to _me_ for answers, I'll come right back to Ferelden and gut you myself."

"You're not staying in Ferelden?" Alistair crosses his own arms and mimics her, a glint in his eyes akin to confusion.

"I hardly think that there's a way to help my clanmate in Ferelden, otherwise he'd be cured right now. No, I think I'm going to search for an older member of the Grey Wardens. Her name was Fiona, or so I think, and it's assumed that she is immune to the calling, so her taint is practically _gone_. But there's a catch; I need to search the Royal Library for any records of her, and there _will _be a record seeing as she had an affair with your father." Alistair winces at her words, shakes his head at her blunt words and then nods.

"Yeah, yeah... Listen, I'd better go, Anora's sending me these vicious glares, and I swear any minute I'll drop down dead right in front of all these lovely spectators. We'll speak later." Alistair nods at her, sighs and then wanders off towards Anora, the blonde haired woman crossing her arms at his appearence before she berates him.

Lina chuckles, turning to look around at everyone gathered in the chamber. Wynne is chatting with a few mages, Leliana with nobility, Zevran stands warily, eyes on the door and Sten is focused on Rinoa who is inconspicuously relieving himself on the corner of a bench. Tamlen stands immediately to her left, and she's surprised that he's been allowed inside, and her feet guide her towards him before she really thinks. She leans against the wall on his right, and watches him with curiosity as he blankly stares out across the chamber.

"His call is gone. I hear it no longer." His remark is quiet enough for her to hear, but not loud enough for anyone listening in to decipher.

"As it should be."

"I could feel him trying to take over you. You did take the killing blow, yes? He changed his mind before he could root inside you, didn't he?" The lack of emotion in his voice makes a shudder go through Lina, and try as she may she knows she can't stop the distressed look on her face. She takes his hand –ignoring his flinch- and squeezes it tightly, shaking her head sadly before she speaks.

"I'm going to get you out of... of _this_, Tamlen."

"Perhaps you should divert your attention to more important matters – Ashalle, for example. I'm sure she's eager to speak to you." A very small, flicker of a smile appears on his face for a moment, before his lips set in a straight line, and Lina doesn't say anything else. She lets go of his hand, moves away from the wall and weaves through the crowd, right into the arms of Ashalle.

"Ashalle, you made it! I didn't think you would be able to!" Ashalle chuckles into her ear, lets her go and then holds her at arm's length, checking her over and shaking her head at Lina's jutting collarbones and bony shoulders. She traced her hands over the scars that now decorated Lina's face; the three claw marks from the dragon on her left cheek, and a dagger cut from a shriek right over her right eye.

"Oh Da'len, you seem so much healthier since we last saw each other, and yet you look like you've braved a thousand levels of hell." Ashalle shook her head, speaking up again. "The keeper, she was so proud when we heard of your victory, she cannot wait to inform the other clans. And- and this thing you've acquired for us, land, Marethari will be so happy. I- I could build a _house_..." Ashalle shakes her head again, laughs in surprise and wonder as she hugs Lina again.

"Oh Ashalle, I've missed you so much." Lina restrains her tears, instead relaxing into Ashalle's embrace and squeezing the older woman tightly.

"I have missed you too, my dear. Although I must ask you a question: What is this I hear about you not returning to the clan?"

"What? I- oh... I _will _return, Ashalle, just not immediately. I have something else I need to attend to, something that I cannot drop for _any_ reason." Ashalle lets go of her and studies her face, desperately searching for some signs of jest or lie. When she can't find any, she sighs and speaks.

"My dear, you are not going to go chasing wild dreams that you had when you were younger, are you? What is so important that you will delay a return to your _clan_?"

"Ashalle, it concerns the clan itself. I cannot tell you what it is, for I know the Keeper will insist on sending a hunter with me, or something to that extent, and that will bode ill for all of us. Simply let me go and do what I must, and I promise I will be back with the clan in less than a year... I hope." Lina smiles at Ashalle, who sighs in defeat and nods, lets go of her arms and pats her cheek before turning to speak to someone else in the chamber. Lina immediately seeks out Wynne, who is stood behind her and watching her with her stern eye, a smile on her face.

"My, my, the Hero of Ferelden. How does it feel?"

"Odd, although I'm wondering; since I'm a Dalish elf, how long will the love last?" Lina asks, cocking her head to the side and looking at all the nobles in the chamber. They all point, laugh, cry, jump and look so _happy_, and it's hard for her to believe that she's helped with this. A year and a half ago, she wouldn't have believed that she would be helping Shem's in a blight.

"Until you do something wrong; then they will enjoy tearing you down _just _as quickly." The healer smiles at her, and it makes Lina only just aware that all the smiles are casted towards her or are about her, and it makes her oddly sick to the stomach.

"It figures. Still, they will have no way to tear me down if I am not here, unless one of them finds out that I'm helping a ghoul. I suppose being nomadic helps with that, doesn't it? Which reminds me, what are you going to do now?"

"Me? I do not know. I may travel, for a while. Why?"

"I was hoping you would come with me. It's not going to be easy hunting down an elf who has been unheard of for twenty-something years, and I have a feeling I'd need help. I was thinking you and Zevran, if you wish." Lina checks Wynne's face for doubt, and the old woman clearly considers it, which is _something_ for Lina.

"I- I will think on it. You leave tomorrow, yes? Give me a night to think on it, and –" She is cut off by a heavily accented voice, and an arm drapes lazily over Lina's shoulders.

"What is this I hear? You wish me to come along, my dear, and I shall!? I must be insane to agree to this, mustn't I?" Zevran sighs in mock defeat, before nodding to a question that none of them asked or answered. Lina sighs, a smile on her lips as she wraps an arm around both Wynne and Zevran.

"Well, I have no doubt that this will be... interesting."

* * *

_Tamlen_

He can say he is confused; can say that he hurts inside and that he is ecstatic that Lina is trying to help him be cured of the sickness. But if he says these things, then he is lying. He feels no confusion, no hurt, no happiness and joy. Instead he feels nothing, absolutely nothing apart from a sick emptiness inside him that doesn't falter. Emotion flickers from time to time, although mostly it's an anger that he can't _really _feel due to the death of the Archdemon.

Anger flickers through him again as a guard shoves him into the carriage, one made from painted black wood and pulled by black mounts to blend in with the cover of darkness that they're about to take.

Lina's not with him, and he knows he wants to care about this but he can't, and as he pulls himself up into the carriage and sits down on a seat, he leans back. He may be tainted, but he's feeling tired and exhausted enough to know that he needs rest. The doors close and he hears the horses being reined, and he's almost surprised when he hears her voice shouting to the guard to _'open the bloody damn doors_', and her equally exhausted, still-healing figure jumps into the carriage donned in a black cloak.

She keeps the door open for a few more seconds, whistles through her teeth very quietly and the dog jumps in, sliding across the small floor space of the carriage and hitting the other side with a thump. Lina giggles, closes the door and sits opposite him, laughing at the dazed look on the dogs face.

"There there, boy, next time you won't be so eager to climb in, no?" The dog barks and sits at her feet, and she laughs again before looking across at him, untying her cloak and wrapping it around the dog.

"What- what on _earth _are you wearing?" The grin that splits into her face reminds him of another time, one where he could _actually_ care.

"_My Dalish huntress armour!"_

"_You're not old enough to wear it yet! You're twelve! And besides, it's way too big for you."_

"_Your _head _is too big. Do I shout at you for that? No!"_

"Tevinter robes. Since we'll be sat in this carriage for three hours, I don't really think I'll be comfortable in my armour." Her voice breaks through the memory, her grin still wide as she unconsciously crosses one leg over the other, jumping a little when the carriage goes over a nasty bump in the road.

"Where exactly are you taking me?"

"Well, from here, we're going to West Hill, since that's the only place we can get a boat to cross to the free marches. Once there, we go through the Vimmark Mountains, and into Nevarra. There are a few clans who live in the Silent Plains, so we'll rest there for a week or two, before going right into the Tevinter Imperium. An item of importance was sent there years ago to be studied by Tevinter Mages, and it sped up the taint in a Grey Wardens body before it allegedly destroyed the taint completely. Sources may be wrong, and if they are we go directly to Weisshaupt where... Well, I'll tell you if it comes to it." Lina smiles awkwardly, sighs at his blank expression and scoots closer to the door, allowing her dog to jump up onto the seat next to her.

The carriage leaves the palace grounds, and Tamlen dimly wonders where the other two companions are.


	8. Breakdown

**A/N**: Thanks to LNicol1990 and Shrimp Chip for the reviews!

* * *

_Lina_

"Stop the carriage."

"What?"

"Stop the damn carriage!" Lina pounded on the window that looked up to the carriage driver, before realizing it could be pulled to the side and tapping the man in the back. "Hey, you! If you keep the carriage moving, I can guarantee that in less than a minute your head will be blown to pieces." At her words the carriage was pulled to a heavy stop, the wooden wheels grinding against the stony road in protest.

"What's going on?" Tamlen asked, and Lina simply held her finger up to quiet him, her ears twitching and her eyes shifting as she tries to sense something he can only faintly register.

"I sense four Alphas, two ahead, one to the west and one to the south. Stay here while I go and take care of the ones ahead." With that, Lina quickly pulled her robes off without hesitation and replaced them with her armour, quiver and bow on her back and pulling her boots on as she stumbled out the carriage. It takes her all she has not to laugh at the look of incredulous surprise on the elf's face before she closes the door behind her and darts for the cover of the trees at the side of the path. One she activates her stealth, she knows that no one else can see her or sense her.

She sneaks her way through the trees and bushes, hating the slowness of her movement that stealth brings, but she ignores the western pull and moves directly ahead where the presence of darkness is stronger. After a few more seconds of moving, she sees the telltale gold armour of an Alpha Hurlock and –to her irk- a Hurlock Emissary. The Alpha is staring directly at her, no doubt sensing her presence there, and it switches the hands that hold the huge war hammer and changes to a fighting stance.

Lina raises her bow, deciding which one is the better to hit with a critical: The Alpha would be useless as the Emissary would heal him, and the moment that the Alpha would detect her arrow going towards the Emissary then she would have to deal with a maniac with a hammer in close range.

It's a quick second decision that she chooses the Emissary, but the small snap made from her shifting feet alert both darkspawn to her presence, and she cannot escape the walking bomb spell that is casted her way. The horrible, cold, _ticking _feeling that hits her is enough to make her pause long enough for the Emissary to freeze her legs in place, and as she raises her bow the stealth flickers and disperses, leaving a time bomb inside her and a lunatic swinging his hammer blindly towards her.

The freeze spell only just cancels in time for her to jump a low swing from the Alpha, her left foot going into the area a humans groin would be as she jumps backwards. There's no reaction from the Alpha other than an annoyed growl, and Lina can't help but be a little disappointed. She pulls up her bow, letting arrow after arrow fly through into the Alpha all the time cursing herself for leaving her swords in the carriage. The Alpha does not seem to struggle, and she can see the Emissary casting spell after spell towards the Alpha to stop him dying at her hands.

Eventually she trips backwards over a tree root, and without thinking she throws her bow behind her to stop the fall and only succeeds in snapping the weapon in two. The Alpha advances on her, war hammer raised high above his head to add to the blow when the weapon suddenly drops. A hand appears from nowhere, ripping the helmet from the darkspawns body before a dagger is pushed through its stomach. A quick beheading later and Zevran appears, throwing her Dar'misu at her chest and then helping her up, a sly smirk on his face as he kicks the body of the Alpha.

"You couldn't have appeared a little sooner?"

"I'm afraid not, my dear, for I was helping Wynne take care of that pesky little Emissary, _and _the one south of your carriage." Zevran pulls her up, makes sure she doesn't trip over the root again, and leads her to Wynne, who shakes her head at her in disbelief.

"I cannot believe you thought it smart to go after an Emissary _and _an Alpha. What were you thinking?" Wynne shakes her shoulders lightly, before dragging her down the road and back towards the carriage.

"How did you both get here that quickly?"

"We left a few minutes after you did; I merely packed a few salves and an extra staff and Zevran and I got the next carriage after you. When we saw your stopped carriage, I nearly had a heart attack."

"Wynne was under the impression that you had been murdered in the carriage or something of the sort. I told her 'Nonsense, she killed an Archdemon dear lady, a few darkspawn are nothing.' But alas, I still wished to cry in her bossom once your friend told us where you had gone." Zevran moved out of the way of a swing from Wynne, who tutted and delved into her pack for a small poultice.

"Come here, young lady, there is blood weeping through your hair and I can see a small cut."

"No! Don't put that in my hair! It makes it go all horrible and-" Wynne cuts her off by putting two poultice-covered fingers onto the back of her head, rubbing it in over a nasty cut that arrived when she fell.

"Goodness gracious, you've got a cut on your head and an impossible task before you, and all you worry about is the state of your _hair_." To annoy her further, Wynne rubbed the poultice under her many small braids, until the small elf finally realized what she was doing and ducked away. Zevran puts his blades away over his back once they reach the carriages, opens the door for Lina to climb in and then both he and Wynne moved back to a carriage that was behind her own.

* * *

They were on the edge of the Planasene Forest, weapons all drawn with the exception of Tamlen, who held a bow but merely allowed it to hang off his arm weakly. Human and city-elf bandits all lay dead and scattered around them, Lina's bow drawn and aimed at the body of one and reminding her oddly of that day in the forest years ago.

"Is anyone injured to the point where they cannot walk or move?" Wynne asked, her staff raised at the ready to heal anyone who spoke up. None of them did, although Lina looked sideways at Tamlen, who seemed to be swaying on his feet a little with a dazed look in his eye. A few seconds later, and his knees buckled underneath him, making him end up on his knees on the forest floor. Lina and Zevran moved forward towards him, the former shaking him slightly to pull him from a reverie that seemed to have taken over him.

"Tamlen? Come on, damnit, snap out of this." He was muttering under his breath, quickly and almost obediently, whispering 'master' every so often. Zevran tried prodding him in the side, earning a fierce glare from Lina, although Tamlen didn't seem to notice the senseless prodding. Sighing in something similar to defeat, Lina raised her hand, winced, closed her eyes tightly and struck Tamlen across his face. A loud 'smack' echoed around the outskirts of the forest, followed seconds later by a scream of rage.

First to move was Zevran, who instinctively moved back in time to avoid the first swing from a very angry Tamlen. Wynne was already out of range, but Lina didn't have the time or the instinct to move away, and the second swing was a backhand to her face with enough strength behind it to break her nose. To her credit, Lina didn't cry out in pain, but she moved to left slightly in a small daze of shock right into the path of another swing from Tamlen. It hit her just underneath her jaw, which made her teeth hit each other painfully and knocked a few out of place.

"Wynne!" The shouted woman immediately cast a glyph of paralysis, and Lina felt her entire body stiffen, her left arm pushing up Tamlen's forearm and her right arm across her bare stomach to protect it frozen in place. Zevran dragged her from the glyphs area, pressing hard on her joints to allow her to regain feeling and movement. Lina immediately went to gingerly touch her nose, wincing in pain at the throbbing ache now on her face.

After a few more spells were cast from Wynne onto Tamlen, including a nasty dose of the 'horror' spell, the dirty-blonde haired elf collapsed to the floor, panting madly with tears streaming down his face.


	9. Looking

**A/N: **Hey! Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Only two-three chapters after this! =3

* * *

_Lina_

The tears had stopped streaming down Tamlen's face by the time that Lina had snapped out of her shock. He had _hit _her, physically hit her, and it shocked her beyond words. Granted, she knew he hadn't meant to hit her, but the shock was still there. Her face throbbed, her nose sent a white-hot pain throughout her whole face and her jaw ached to the point where she didn't dare try to speak. Her joints all ached from being pulled from a paralysis glyph, and a stone was digging into her left leg as she sat on the floor.

Only when warmth flooded her face and her nose cracked into place did Lina actually move, and although Zevran protested against it, Lina practically crawled across the grass towards Tamlen. The sight of him curled up and shaking in the middle of the clearing they were in made Lina sick to the stomach, almost made her sob in despair at how _broken _he looked.

"Tamlen... Tamlen, look at me." Lina shook him lightly when she finally got to him, wariness gone completely to be replaced with sympathy and concern. The dark-blond elf didn't look at her despite her pleas, and so Lina pulled him up from his laying position and held him level to her face, and although he now had no choice but to look at her face, he still managed to make it seem like he was looking somewhere else.

She gasped when she saw his face fully, having not seen it in direct sunlight for a few days. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, his skin had started to go blotchy with the corruption, and his eyes were bloodshot and somewhat empty.

"Listen to me, I'm going to help you, but I can't do that if you keep locking your emotions inside you. That's what caused that breakdown, wasn't it? You weren't really as emotionless as you had me believe." With that, Lina pulled him closer and embraced him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder as he awkwardly patted her back. Zevran and Wynne looked on awkwardly, although the former spun quickly on his heel at a rustle in the trees, a knife being taken from his belt and thrown into the trees with precision.

It hit something fleshy and squishy, as Shale would say, and a gasp of pain echoed through the trees caught Lina's attention. She pulled her face from its sobbing spot in Tamlen's neck and wiped her eyes, pulled her bow and an arrow from its quiver and aimed it at the trees, standing up slowly as she did so.

"Who's there? Show yourself, _now_." It was hard to tell that she had only just been crying, for all emotion had gone from her voice and the arrow that was nocked was aimed directly at a dark shape slowly emerging from the trees.

The armour on the person was most definitely Dalish, this Lina could tell by the designs carved into the reinforced leather. A familiar Dalish Bow was held in one hand, a Dar'Misu on the belt and a pouch of coins on the left hip attachment. The person was very clearly an elf due to the shape and size of them, but when the person left the shade of the trees and the light hit their sharp face and soft blond hair, both Lina and Tamlen uttered little sounds of surprise. Tamlen more so, and he hid his face by looking down, allowing his fortunately longer hair to hide most of his face.

Lina lowered her bow immediately, discarding it to the side as she cocked her head at the newcomer. Wynne and Zevran exchanged looks, one of surprise and one of unease. The newcomer stepped even closer, putting his bow back over his back when Lina shoved her bow to the side, and Lina grinned in relief at him.

"Fenarel! I- oh my... What are you doing here?!" Fenarel was looking at her curiously, recognizing her but studying her face with strange eyes.

"You've aged..." Lina almost rolled her eyes at him, although she answered back with more sarcasm than intended.

"Oh really, you think? It _has _been a year."

"Indeed Lethallin, but I can guarantee that I look no different, and yet you now look older than me, friend." Zevran looked astounded by his forwardness at telling her that she looked _old_, and Wynne clucked her tongue. After all, to her, the young elf looked like she was still in her late teens.

"I- thanks, Fenarel, really. Now what are you doing here?" Lina asked, crossing her arms over her chest now and very clearly annoyed, although Fenarel was now looking at the hiding Tamlen, who may as well have glued his face to the floor with how hard he was looking at it.

"Marethari sent me to follow you after Ashalle came back with news that you were on another quest. She said you might need some help, so I followed and... Is that Tamlen?" Lina sighed at his question, shaking her head when Tamlen himself seemed to retreat into his armour.

"You had better sit down, Fenarel; I have a _lot _of explaining to do."

* * *

They walked down the pathway, Lina's tracking and survival skills surfacing as they moved away from the trail, following the mismatched prints of Dalish Aravel's and Halla hooves, small bits of white fur and hair threading on the unruly bushes and trees. It didn't take long after trailing through the trees until they found the Dalish camp, Wynne and Zevran opting to remain in a small encampment to avoid any distrust from the Dalish.

Fenarel had already left to go back to Marethari, and he agreed to not tell Marethari what Lina was doing and instead was going to tell her that he didn't see what Lina was up to.

"I once ran off to try and find a Dalish camp. They almost killed me on sight, thinking I was a human." Zevran muttered, and Tamlen looked behind him with a raised eyebrow, shaking his head. They eventually reached a clearing of a sort, entrance blocked by a large tree trunk and two hunters.

"Greetings, Lethallin. These are curious companions you have. Might I ask the purpose of your visit?" The hunter was male and oddly familiar, and Lina wondered if she had seen him at one of the Gathering of the clans.

"I am here with another of my clan and two humans, brother. I am a Grey Warden, and I seek the hospitality of your clan if only for a few hours."

"A Grey Warden? I- forgive my surprise... but a messenger arrived at our camp a few hours previously looking for a Dalish Warden... I believe that that specific Warden is you... Follow me."


	10. Trouble in Weisshaupt

**A/N: **Hey! Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! This is going to be the last plot-like chapter, before it'll split to two alternate endings. A good one, and a bad one, so vote which one you want first!

* * *

_Lina_

"I need you to... do me a favour. Make a promise" Lina's head shot up to look at Tamlen, who hadn't spoken at all after his breakdown until now. They were in a carriage again, this time one sent directly by the Grey Wardens of Weisshaupt to bring them to the fortress. Wynne and Zevran had gone to the Tevinter Imperium to try and find any information on Ghouls, and Lina had only agreed to go to Weisshaupt because the messenger claimed that they knew the location of Fiona.

"Of course. You know I'd do anything for you..." Lina answered, aware that her words echoed his that day in the cave. Tamlen had spent most of the carriage journey staring out the window, and Lina had taken to polishing her weapons and fixing her quiver strap.

"What happened a few days ago, in the forest before Fenarel showed up, when I went into that reverie. Next time that happens, I want you to _promise _me, you'll kill me." Lina dropped her quiver to the floor of the carriage at his request, her mouth hung open in disbelief. His eyes were staring directly into her own to show he wouldn't accept no for an answer, and Lina couldn't help but shake her head.

He was ill; the effect of the Urn was starting to wear off. His skin was blotching all over his face and arms, he was steadily getting thinner and thinner as the days wore on, and his hair was darkening to a point where it wasn't long before it would fall out.

"You cannot ask me to do that, Tamlen. I could _never _kill you. Ever."

"What if I'm holding a dagger to your throat, your hair twisted in my hand and I've got you seconds from death? Could you kill me then?" His eyes flashed at the image he got in his head, and although he would likely kill himself before it ever got to that point, if he was unaware of his actions then he'd never live with himself if he killed her. Lina rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palm, shaking her head madly.

"No, Tamlen. I'd rather have death at your hands than at the hands of any darkspawn."

"So you would let me kill you, and then let me suffer with the knowledge that I killed you? No, Lina, that cannot happen. I need you to promise-" Lina held her hand up to cut him off, a look of disbelief on her face, and she leaned back in her seat.

"After we have come this far? Tamlen, we are weeks away from finding a cure for you, and you want me to kill you if you simply fall into another fit?"

"You and I both know that I am not, and never can be, cured. Those ashes you gave to me, it was like your joining. It hasn't cured me, just delayed the inevitable. Lina, I've known you since we were _three_. Please, I don't want to have to suffer any more than necessary. Promise me, next time I end up like that, don't even try to snap me out of it. Just kill me." Lina kept her eyes locked with his, her dark ones swirling in the light coming from the window, her face changing from one of sorrow, to denial, to restraint. Eventually she sighed, holding back tears she refused to shed.

"Very well. If it is what you wish, then I cannot deny you that, I suppose."

Tamlen opened his mouth to say something else, but decided against it when she looked out the window in the carriage door, clearly not wanting to talk on anything further.

* * *

They arrived at Weisshaupt two days earlier than expected, having had a relatively uneventful journey. Lina gracefully stepped out the carriage and stared up at the large, ancient fortress, her eyes wide at the beautiful architecture of the place. Lanterns hung from vines that twisted around the entrance, and a cleared path led the way to the double doors at the front, a courtyard with a large fountain in the middle made from white stone greeting her. It was nothing at all like the Sloth Demon had showed her; rather the fortress in the fade reflected how _she _imagined the place to look. _This_ was absolutely breathtaking.

She was so transfixed by the fort that she tripped over Rinoa –who was walking in front of her -, almost falling headlong into the fountain and likely to crack her head open had Tamlen not grabbed the back of her Tevinter robes to steady her. The High Commander, who stood outside the double oak doors, chuckled lightly at her stumble, moving forward to greet her and shake her hand.

"The hero of Ferelden. My, my, I am so glad you could make it my lady." Tamlen scoffed quietly under his breath, and Lina herself almost rolled her eyes at the false tone in the man's voice.

"High Commander, it is an honour to be invited to the halls of Weisshaupt." Lina crossed her arms over her chest in respect, although her own tone of voice made Tamlen want to strike them both for acting so sugary sweet to each other.

"You must, however, be wondering why I have called you here, my lady." The Commander looked down to Rinoa as he spoke, wary of the look the dog was giving him. Rinoa had laid down on the floor next to Tamlen's feet, his head on his paws but his teeth bared at the man who was speaking to his mistress.

"Aye Commander, that I am. I was surprised that you managed to find me, truth be told. You surely know that I am Dalish, and my kind do not allow ourselves to be found so easily." The Commander chuckled at her words, nodding slightly before turning to open the huge oak doors behind him, inviting them to follow him inside once they were open. The doors led to a massive entrance hall, the insignia of the Grey Warden's stamped onto a large rug in the middle of the hall, the room decorated in colours of Silver and grey, their emblems main colours. In all honesty, the place looked nothing like a fort, but rather a very grand estate.

"Excuse the decor of the hall today, my lady. Having the woman who defeated a blight before it truly began arriving here, the servants and recruits thought it best to try and make the place seem a bit livelier. Which they have failed at, sadly." He led them through the hall, stopping once in the centre and motioning for a few guards to leave.

"Could you perhaps tell me why I was summoned here, please?" Lina asked, her patience wearing thin with the man.

"Ah yes. I have summoned you here on account of what happened the night the Archdemon was killed. Under normal circumstances, _you _should be _dead_. Yet you are not. And I get the feeling that the King of Ferelden was lying in the letters that he sent me. But you know why you are still alive, do you not? Yes, you do. I advise that your companion and the dog make their way to the Library on the second floor of the fortress, for we will be discussing Grey Warden matters."

"Can I ask why you need to interrogate me?"

"My lady, you seek information that our mages can give you. You answer my questions, and in return I allow you access to their notes, their experiments and to the mages themselves. You will not be disappointed with the information you can learn if you co-operate. I also need to discuss whether or not you wish to become a Warden-Commander." Lina's eyebrow rose at the last sentence, and she looked to Tamlen and Rinoa hesitantly. Rinoa barked in approval, before he got distracted by his stump of a tail, and Tamlen merely shrugged.

"Fair enough. You will need to find someone to escort them to the Library though, for I fear my dog may get... distracted." Rinoa stopped at the mention of him, cocking his head to the side at Lina with his tongue lolling out. Tamlen grimaced, stepping back from the dog as Rinoa drooled over the floor.

* * *

_Tamlen _

He had been sat in the library for a little over an hour, reading a book on Elven History when Rinoa stood up quickly from the fire to bark at the door. He closed the book with a snap, making the dogs left ear twitch slightly before his hackles raised, and he started to growl. Tamlen picked up Lina's pack from a table he had deposited it on, before putting his hand on the dog's collar in confusion.

He was wary, for the dog only acted like this when Lina was in trouble, that he could tell from when he had observed from a distance. After a few minutes of standing and staring at the doors, they opened a small width, and Lina stepped through looking out of breath.

"What's going on?" Tamlen hissed, letting go of the dog and letting him run to Lina. She scratched Rinoa's ears before taking her pack from Tamlen's arm. She ignored his question, instead waved her arms like she was performing a spell whilst muttering under her breath. He'd seen her do this before when he was still in the advanced stages of being a ghoul, and sure enough a shadow appeared next to her. Unlike the normal wolf he had always seen appear, instead a blight wolf took its place, and Lina looked at Rinoa and the wolf together.

"You two, I want one of you to go left when you leave the room, and one of you to go right, and then I want you to knock out or kill everyone you come across who bears a weapon. Rinoa, when you hear me whistle, I want you to get yourself to the front gates of the fort. Now go." The wolf and Rinoa moved swiftly out the small space in the door, and Lina nocked an arrow in her bow and held it at the ready,

"Lina, what are you doing?"

"I don't have much time to explain, but we need to get out of here. Depending on who and what we run into on our way out depends on whether we live or die tonight." Lina slipped out the door and motioned for Tamlen to take to the shadows, following him after she checked that no one was on the corridor. She hid much more easily than Tamlen, although her bow was aimed at the ready to kill anyone they came across on the way out.


	11. Peace

**A/N:** Hey! Thanks to those who reviewed! Alas, here is **one of the two** alternate endings! You can guess which this one is when you've read it, and don't forget to review to tell me how you think it turned out! =3

- - -

_Lina_

Her bow was trained, ready to let arrows loose at either end of the hallway they were on, her ears listening for footsteps from either side. Tamlen shifted behind her, looking very awkward stood in the shadows that he couldn't really blend into.

"Lina, will you tell me what's going on?" He hissed, feeling a headache coming on and his emotions flickering between existing and not existing. The blonde elf turned her head a little to the side, locking eyes with him and speaking.

"The High Commander, he started to get... _violent_ after I said I didn't know why I wasn't dead for the fifth time. So I knocked him out, and used his own dagger to skewer his hand to the floor. But the guard outside heard the commotion, so I had to kill him. I slipped into the shadows just as more Grey Wardens and guards came. If we're caught on the way out... We'll die." Lina heard him gulp quietly behind her, but her ears picked up a long, loud howl in the distance, coming from the right side of the building.

"Was that Rinoa?"

"No, that was the Blight wolf. He's cleared his path first, let's go." Lina took off to the right, moving out of her stealth and motioning for Tamlen to follow. She traded her bow for a Dar'Misu and Dar'Missan, handing the bow to Tamlen to use if needed. She stopped against the wall, looking around the corner and grimacing at the sight.

Three guards all lay dead on the floor, their armour torn from strong claws and faces mauled by strong teeth, black blood oozing from all the wounds. Their weapons all lay underneath them, although Lina kicked one body to the side and snatched the arrows from the quiver.

They made their way through the rest of the fort, trying to find an exit, eventually finding a set of stairs that led to the first floor, although they were met with two guards. Lina trusted Tamlen to take care of one of them whilst she moved to the first one, her Dar'Missan striking out to disarm him and her Dar'Misu slicing through his armour. The Dar'Missan moved from the empty-hand to the slice in the abdomen of his armour, cutting through it and skewering the guard, and she spun slightly behind him and stabbed him in the back of the neck with her Dar'Misu.

The other guard fell to the floor at around the same time, his armour full of arrows although the killing shot had been a hit right in between his eyes. Tamlen smirked a little, kicked the body and continued onwards, following the trail of bloody bodies to the entrance hall. They eventually reached it, and Lina placed two fingers to her mouth and whistled so loudly it hurt Tamlen's ears, and a bark is heard not too far off.

Lina motioned for her bow and arrows, and Tamlen handed them to her, in turn taking the two blades and looking out the window. Several guards were at the gates, determined to catch her before she can leave. There were stables to the left of the gates, and three black horses and a white horse stand in the stalls, conveniently saddled up already.

"What do you think we should do?"

"I'm not sure. It won't be long before more guards appear, and I don't want to be around for that. If we take a horse, they can close the gates before we've gotten out, but if we just waltz out there we'll likely be killed." Lina pursed her lips after she spoke, counting the guards. One with a greatsword, two with swords and a shield, and two archers. She thought silently for a moment, before turning around to look at the bodies littering the hall. She moved from the window to yank a longbow from a body, and she handed it to Tamlen along with six of her elf-flight arrows.

"Take out the two with shields. I'll the archers. And by the creators, _do not miss_." She hissed the last words with urgency, nocking an arrow in her own bow and looking out the open window. Tamlen knelt near the second window to the right of the doors, nocking the arrow and aiming. He nodded to her once his aim was accurate, and Lina took a deep breath before hissing 'Now!'

The two arrows flew through the air much more quickly than normal arrows, one hitting a warrior guard in the chink of his armour between his helmet and his breastplate, the other ramming itself into the eye of an archer. The other guards and Grey Warden's became instantly alert, the one with the greatsword letting out a fearsome roar as the others looked around for the source of the attack.

The second arrows Tamlen and Lina sent hit their targets respectfully, Tamlen's target dying on impact with the arrow that hit him between the eyes, Lina's hopping around and screaming in pain as the arrow was sent through the throat. The guard gurgled on his own blood as the arrow cut the arteries in his neck, and Lina tossed a sword to Tamlen.

"Take care of the other warrior; I'll get the man with the greatsword." Tamlen nodded and they both pushed the oak doors open, Tamlen moving towards the guard with the shield and Lina raising her bow to eye level again to face the one with the greatsword. An arrow was freed from the bow to hit the guard in his leg, and although the man stumbled he kept on going. She hissed in anger, watching how he advanced on Tamlen and the other guard, and she nocked another arrow, carefully looking at all the chinks in the guards armour and deciding the best angle to shoot.

"Do you not think it best to _shoot the damn arrow?"_ Tamlen shouted, his voice cutting through her concentration. He had already disposed of the other guard, and was now backing slowly away from the one with the greatsword. He was looking towards Lina in agitation, wondering why she wasn't pumping the guard full of arrows.

She ignored him, shifted her footing a little and titled her bow a little to the left, raising a few millimetres before letting the arrow fly. It hit the guard with the greatsword directly in his armpit as he had rose his sword to strike, and the arrow had had enough strength behind it to embed itself into the guards beating heart.

Tamlen glared at her when the man fell down dead at his feet, annoyed and relieved as he kicked the body and searched it for anything they might have found useful. Lina looked around the courtyard and up at the fort, where more soldiers were descending to capture or kill them. She grabbed Tamlen's arm and half dragged him as she ran to the gates, slipping through the small gap and pulling Tamlen through. The two of them were about to start running when a bark was heard behind them, and Lina turned on her heel and ran back to the gate.

"Rinoa! Come here boy, come on!" She pulled at the gates before they snapped shut, her heels digging into the ground as she created enough space for the Mabari to squeeze through easily. The Mabari barked once through, and the three of them took off into the forest.

* * *

"We're lost... We are actually _lost_. We're Dalish, we're the best hunters in our clan, and we are supposed to be excellent trackers. And we're lost." Lina kicked the floor in anger, ignoring Rinoa's whine of concern as the stone kicked up hit him in the face.

"Lina, will you calm down? We are _not _lost. Now hand me your map of Thedas." Tamlen held his hand out for the map, but Lina only pulled at the small braids in her short hair in frustration.

"We've been travelling for over three weeks now in creators know _what_ direction, my Dar'Missan has _snapped in two _and my bow is on the verge of breaking, my armour is cracked and all I have after that is my Tevinter robes and heavens it's too cold for me to wear that."

"You are wearing Dalish armour. Personally, the Tevinter robes would keep you warmer." Tamlen whipped his hand out to the belt on her armour, tugging a scroll from a buckle and unrolling it, looking at it carefully. The glare Lina sent him was enough to make even Rinoa edge away from his mistress, and the dog switched his position from next to Lina to in between her and Tamlen.

"The map isn't going to do us any good." Lina muttered under her breath, but Tamlen ignored her this time.

"Okay, we haven't seen the ocean, so we _can't _be travelling that way... but this is the only mapped road, so... hmm..." Tamlen traced the outline of the Imperial Highway on the map with his hands, before handing the map to Lina and showing her his deduction.

"We are on the Imperial Highway, yes? We haven't seen the ocean, and after two weeks of following this road, I'll assume that we are nowhere near Minrathous. And seeing as that is where the highway ends in this region _and _we haven't come across Vol Dorma, then we must be heading this way." The scowl in Lina's face dimmed as what Tamlen was saying started to make sense.

"So then where are we?"

"We haven't come across any forks in the highway, so we either have to be here" He pointed to the bold T on the map where it had 'Tevinter Imperium' "or anywhere in between that and the fork in the highway. I give it a week before we end up at the fork, and then we go _left _and follow the road until we reach Perivantium. I believe that that is where your other companions were sent." Lina raised an eyebrow at him when he rolled the map back up and handed it to her again, shifting the bow on her back as she quickened her pace.

"Since when were you so good at reading maps?"

"I've always been able to read maps like that." Tamlen shrugged, watching as she tied the map back to her belt and then looked back at him in annoyance once his words sunk in.

"_What_?! You've always been able to read maps so well? Then why did you always make me do the map work whenever we went hunting for weeks on end?!" Tamlen smirked a little at her question, before shrugging again and laughing at her scowl.

"You'll get over it eventually."

* * *

Lina fumbled her hands nervously in front of her, sitting against Rinoa in the middle of the makeshift camp they had set up just off the highway. Tamlen was opposite her and throwing bits of wood at the fire every so often, content with sitting there in the silence that had descended on them. Rinoa shifted every so often, but allowed his mistress to use him as her pillow despite the pressure she was putting on his ribs as she thought deeply.

"I- um, Tamlen, can I ask you a question?" Tamlen's eyes shot up from the fire to lock with hers, curiosity flickering across the orbs as he nodded. His face was darkening from the taint, his eyes were starting to lose their colour, his face was thinner and dark circles rimmed his eyes.

"Well, that day, about a year ago, when you appeared at the camp as a ghoul...Do you remember it?" Lina didn't notice him stiffen slightly at the memory or the question, nor did she notice the quiver in his voice as he answered.

"Yes, I remember. How could I _not_?" Lina took a deep breath when he answered, and prepared herself to ask another question.

"Well, do you remember what you said to me, just before you asked me to kill you?"

"Yes..." Lina sighed at the lack of emotion in his voice, and her nails were digging into the palm of her hands from her nerves.

"I... well I want to- to know if what you said was true..." Lina did notice him stiffen this time, although she couldn't discern the anger from the sadness in his tone when he answered curtly.

"Why?"

"Why? Because there is every possibility that either of us will die in the next few weeks, and if that's going to happen, then I have to at least know-"

"I meant it." Lina allowed her eyes to widen at Tamlen's words, and although she could picture Alistair applauding her for her bravery at asking, she couldn't help but feel disappointed that Tamlen was still sitting opposite her.

"You really meant it? I- wow, I-"

"Can we not discuss this?" At Tamlen's annoyed snap Lina felt herself sink into Rinoa a little bit more, feeling like he had just slapped her with a wet fish.

"_What_?!"

"Listen, Lina... I'd rather talk about this once everything is over. Right now is not the time." Lina narrowed her eyes at him -sure he was lying- before nodding, holding back on an angry retort and instead snuggling into Rinoa, smiling a little when he started to growl at Tamlen.

* * *

She was desperate, now. They were only days away from Perivantium, and yet in the past two weeks since the awkward moment at camp Tamlen had started to show the signs of breaking again. It hurt her to think that she may have sparked it again, but it was clear just by looking at Tamlen that he would break soon, and that was why she was pressing forward even through the rain and sleet. The weather had started to let up in the past few hours, although the wet marble floor of the Imperial Highway had caused her to lose her footing every now and then.

She cast a glance over to Tamlen, shaking her head at his empty expression. Every sign was there. His emotions had flickered and come to life, before dissipating and leaving him acting like a soulless vessel, his face had seemed to lose the taint right up until the early hours of the morning, where Lina had woken up to find him looking even worse than he had previously. His comments were curter, his body froze more often during their journey and he had started to talk to himself.

She gave it less than a week before he snapped.

-

Lina's hand were shaking madly, tears had already formed and started to fall down her cheeks as she closed her eyes tightly, whispering 'no' under her breath quickly and desperately. She opened her eyes to see that her actions were not availing, and that she wasn't dreaming. Tamlen had fallen to his knees in the middle of the highway, staring blankly into space and muttering as if in a trance.

Rinoa nudged her hand with his muzzle, whining sadly at her and trying to get her to do what was right. Perivantium could be seen in the distance, only an hour of two away, and Lina _really _felt like dragging Tamlen there and finding Wynne and Zevran to help her. But Rinoa's persistent nudging showed her that she couldn't possibly do that even if she was in the right frame of mind.

She drew her Dar'Misu from its sheath and stepped slowly towards Tamlen, her left hand ready to slap him and her right hand with the blade ready to attack if necessary.

She slapped him hard across her cheek, watching in sorrow as his eyes flashed blue before swirling darkly, and he whipped his hand out to grab her right wrist. He dug his fingers into the flesh, forcing her to drop the blade in pain before he grabbed it. Rinoa started to bark at him, but Tamlen ignored it, going straight for Lina in his frenzied state. With no call to control him, and no will to stop him, he automatically grabbed the back of her head, twisting her hair in his hand and pulling her head back, the blade at her throat and ready to kill.

Lina, on instinct, brought her knee up sharply, hitting his groin and causing him to slacken his grip momentarily, long enough for her to grab the hand with the blade and pull the fingers from the weapon. She kept on bending the fingers back, twisting his arm around in the process and ducking under it, tears fighting their way through her defence and wetting her cheeks. Lina kicked Tamlen's knee out, forcing him forwards to the floor and delivering a swift kick to his side, right on the soft part where the metal of his armour changed to leather.

Rinoa moved to her, growling, with her fallen Dar'Misu handle in his mouth, and Lina bent to retrieve it before hitting Tamlen three times on vital area's stunning him in place. She knelt next to him and rolled him over to face her, noticing the dark shadows that had taken over his eyes and cursing.

"I... I honestly never thought it would come to this. After all I'd done, defeated an Archdemon, stopped a civil war, granted land to the Dalish and helped the Shems through hell, I never thought I would ever have to hurt you. I thought I'd be given my happy ending, the one that the heroine always gets in the Shemlen tales, her knight in shining armour and a life of contentment and bliss with the person she loved. But I made you a promise, one I should never have made, and to be frank I have no idea how to remove you from this state." Rinoa whined sadly behind her, but he moved forward to rest his head against her ribs as she sobbed, her Dar'Misu ready and pointed to Tamlen's chest.

"I want you to know Tamlen, if any part of you can hear me, that for as long as I can remember, I've loved you. Even when we were six and I pushed you into that ravine, I loved you. And I'm _so sorry _I couldn't save you." Closing her eyes tightly, she brought her Dar'Misu down hard into Tamlen's body, cutting through the armour and straight into his chest, gasping loudly when she heard him splutter from the wound. She yanks it out immediately, sobbing and hyperventilating as she notices his blood on her hands, and her dog has to bite hard on her side and pull her back to stop her from launching herself forward onto his dying body.

She very briefly heard him tell her that what he had said was true, and although she didn't understand what he meant at first, when it did click she curled up into a ball in the middle of the highway, sobbing whilst holding tightly onto his cold hand as his life ebbed away from him.

Half an hour later she finally accepts that her friend and love had finally found piece, and she let go of his hand to clench her fists in Rinoa's fur. The dog licked her cheek sadly, letting rip a mournful howl into the air that even people miles away could likely hear. It's a sad thing to hear her Mabari howl in despair for his mistress, and it brings on another onslaught of tears to know that she's causing herself the pain, that she killed the only one she loved.

An hour after that, Rinoa finally stopped howling, and Lina took her Warden's oath from her pack and tied it around Tamlen's neck, still crying although she was certain that she couldn't have any water left in her body.

She buried him just off to the side of the Imperial Highway, in a nice, convenient clearing that's blooming with flowers. She ended up covered in mud after collapsing on top of the grave, and she knew that if Rinoa hadn't been there with her, she wouldn't have been able to leave.

* * *

The children all giggle and squeal when Lina arrives back at her camp three months later, all of them focused on trying to catch Rinoa's tail as he chased them through their little area in camp. Marethari greets her with a hug, smile and words of comfort and joy that she is home at last, and Ashalle nearly chokes her she hugs her that tightly. None of them ask where she has been the past half a year after the fall of the Archdemon, and she's certain that Fenarel told no one of where she had been.

The blonde elf looked saddened when she had arrived without Tamlen, but he had only nodded at her and took her to Marethari. The Keeper smiles proudly at her and takes a crate from the back of her aravel, and when Lina opens it she fights not to cry because within it is her tent (all folded up neatly) the two bedrolls that were inside, all of her belongings that she had left behind, and all of Tamlen's. His winter cloak is even in there, and she strongly resists the urge to grab it and hide her face within it.

She sets her tent up that night and hides within it, not attending the supper because she feels like she is still waiting, and although her mind takes her two years back to when she would usually wait for Tamlen to arrive before they went to the campfire, she knows that it's all in her head. But the tent still smells the same as it used to, smoky from too many candles being burned, the lantern that burns a candle still has their names carved into the side from when they were six, and the items inside are all in the places where they would always go after Tamlen and her would set the tent up again and again every few months.

And when she goes to fall asleep minutes later, she looks at the back of the necklace that the Tamlen from the Gauntlet gave her. There, smiling up at her in approval, is Tamlen's face, the Tamlen she knew before they entered the cave, and it sets her off into tears once more.

Everyone back at her camp assume she's fine, think that she's silent because she wants it after months of travelling and fighting. And they never suspect what the problem is, not even when twenty years later she again breaks down before leaving for a premature calling.

* * *

_Well, I hope you liked that! One more chapter after this, and it's the alternate ending! R&R Please and thankyou =3_


	12. It's Over

**A/N**: Hey! Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Well, heres the alternate ending, the slightly better-off one. Thanks to those who reviewed throughout this story, I hope you like this chapter much more than the last! :]

* * *

_Lina_

_Her bow was trained, ready to let arrows loose at either end of the hallway they were on, her ears listening for footsteps from either side. Tamlen shifted behind her, looking very awkward stood in the shadows that he couldn't really blend into._

_"Lina, will you tell me what's going on?" He hissed, feeling a headache coming on and his emotions flickering between existing and not existing. The blonde elf turned her head a little to the side, locking eyes with him and speaking._

_"The High Commander, he started to get... __violent__ after I said I didn't know why I wasn't dead for the fifth time. So I knocked him out, and used his own dagger to skewer his hand to the floor. But the guard outside heard the commotion, so I had to kill him. I slipped into the shadows just as more Grey Wardens and guards came. If we're caught on the way out... We'll die." Lina heard him gulp quietly behind her, but her ears picked up a long, loud howl in the distance, coming from the right side of the building._

_"Was that Rinoa?"_

"No, that was the blight wolf I summoned. But I'm not sure if he's just died or cleared his path... Let's go left, Rinoa will have left an interesting trail of bodies, and I trust him to have killed every guard on the way." She handed Tamlen her bow and quiver, then took her dagger and Dar'Misu, crouching to the floor and peeking around the corner to the left. She inwardly winced when she saw the blood stains on the brick walls of the fortress, and she heard Tamlen clear his throat quietly behind her.

"I take that back; Rinoa has most _definitely _left an interesting trail." She ground her teeth together, holding both her weapons slackly in her hands. They followed the trail of bodies through rooms and down a staircase, pausing only when the trail bent out two ways. One set of bloody paw prints went right up to a white door that blended in with the wall and held a magical aura, and another that went directly down a hallway.

"Which way do we go?"

"We could check that room? Rinoa may have found something, or he wouldn't have put his paws on there. I'll check if it's safe in there." Tamlen didn't have the chance to nod in agreement when Lina disappeared from his view, leaving a few shadowy wisps of smoke behind her, and the door opened on its own. Tamlen kept his eyes peeled, and Lina could swear he caught a glimpse of her as she slipped into the room.

An old man, likely a mage, stood near the window, staff far away on his desk and wearing no armour except his robes. But after Soldiers Peak, Lina learned that just because he was unarmed didn't mean he wasn't dangerous, especially since he was a Grey Warden too. She silently sheathed her sword and held her dagger tightly, concentrating fully on keeping hidden as she moved around the desk and toward the Mage. When she was directly behind him, she held the dagger to the man's throat from behind, coming out of her stealth as the metal of the blade touched the skin on the man's throat. She pulled him backwards, changing her position slightly until she had him up against a wall away from the window, dagger unmoving from his throat.

"Scream, and I cut your throat..." He didn't seem bothered by her threat; instead his lifted a hand up to grip the wrist that was holding the dagger to his throat.

"Do you think I would be alive right now, if I am not useful to you? That hound of yours has spared me for a reason..." The two of them looked towards the door when Tamlen entered, his eyebrows narrowed as he looked at the human.

"What do you mean, you're useful to me?" Lina asked, turning her attention back to the man, still pressing the dagger to his throat.

"I know what the High Commander is like, I know how he gets. You have a tainted one with you who is not a warden, and you seek help. I can get you out of here alive."

"And what do you want in return?" The man narrowed his eyes at her question, scoffing as if the answer was obvious.

"Your hound just practically ripped apart the guards outside. _Armed _guards. You would not hesitate to do the same. Being allowed to live would be nice, if you don't let them know I helped you get out." Lina pursed her lips in thought, eyes still locked with the human's as she contemplated the idea. After a few seconds of thinking with Tamlen and the human both watching her, she removed her dagger from his throat and sheathed it.

"Talk." When the blade moved from the man's neck, he dived under Lina's arm and towards the bookshelf on the other side of the room. Tamlen instantly readied the bow at the sudden movement, but Lina's hand held up to make him lower it.

"There are a few ways out of the fortress through passages. I've no idea why they were ever made, but I wouldn't question their existence; they were most likely for the servants and messengers. One leads to just outside the stables, where the horses are obviously kept. Follow the trail your dog left until you get to the large Grey Warden tapestry, and the door and staircase are behind it. Don't take the paint horses, whatever you do. I suggest the two white steeds, or one of the white and the black one."

"I don't trust this..." Tamlen muttered under his breath, arrow still nocked but bow aimed at the floor. Lina glanced back at him with a look that said 'We don't have a choice,' and then grinned when he caught her eye.

"Here, this is the address of a Grey Warden who may be able to help you. Her home is in Perivantium, in the Tevinter Imperium. She may have something to help your friend. Do you have lockpicks?" At Lina's hurried nod, he handed her a map of Perivantium, the slip of parchment with the address on and then pushed them towards the door. As they were leaving the room Lina looked down at the name on the slip of parchment, rolling her eyes at the irony when she realized who it was.

_Fiona Elleva_

"I don't believe this. We've been looking for this woman since we left Denerim, and now we get her address when there is a good chance we'll die. Creators curse me, I was never cut out for _this_." Lina grabbed Tamlen's wrist and dragged him down the hallways of the fort, ears pricked for any sounds, eyes peeled for the tapestry.

* * *

"_Will you hurry up_?!" Tamlen hissed at her, looking sickly pale as they hid near the door to the stables. Lina had two splintered lockpicks on the ground next to her, and another two currently lodged in the lock to the stables.

"Do you want to do this? Because by all means, go for it! See how long it is until we get killed!" Lina spat back, not looking away from the lock as she pushed the tumbler up with one pick and lodged the spring in place with the other. She did the same for the next two tumblers in the lock, smirking at the 'click' it made as the door unlocked.

She cast the smirk towards Tamlen as he gaped at the lock, before she pulled the stable doors open and moved inside. Tamlen moved to two black steeds, standing to the side of them and softly stroking their sides as Lina ran to the far wall to find cloths to place on the horse's backs. She got frantic when she noticed that nothing was on the wall where it should be, and only snapped out of it when she found the reins.

"Lina, will you hurry up and get on a horse! We don't have time to saddle them up!"

"If you think I'm going to get on one of those things without at least some reins, you're dreaming!" Lina tossed a rein to Tamlen, and then walked slowly over to a large white horse in a back pen. She patted the horse's side as she put the rein on, quickly sorting it out before dragging a bucket to the side of the horse. She stepped on it, swinging one leg over the horse and using the mane to pull herself up. Tamlen did the same, both of them taking the reins and trotting the horses to the stable doors.

Placing two fingers to her lips, Lina whistled loudly through her fingers, waiting for the bark that followed a few minutes later before digging her heels into the side of her horse and making the animal move towards the gates. Rinoa stopped his fighting with the guards in order to leave through the gates first, and both Tamlen and Lina followed with their horses.

The shouts of the guards silenced in seconds the further they got away from the fort, and they sped down the path and on the way to Perivantium

* * *

"How far away from the city are we, now?" Lina asked, sitting on the grass near her tent and staring at the maps, not taking anything in due to her tiredness. Rinoa lay next to her, his head on her lap and his drool pooling on her leg and threatening to spill down into her armoured boot. Tamlen slowly moved over to her from his own tent, kneeling next to her and looking at the map for a moment or two.

"Here. We are on the Imperial Highway, yes? We haven't seen the ocean, and after two days of following this road, I'll assume that we are nowhere near Minrathous. And seeing as that is where the highway ends in this region _and _we haven't come across Vol Dorma, then we must be heading this way." The scowl in Lina's face dimmed as what Tamlen was saying started to make sense.

"So then where are we?"

"We haven't come across any forks in the highway, so we either have to be here" He pointed to the bold T on the map where it had 'Tevinter Imperium' "or anywhere in between that and the fork in the highway. I give it a day or two before we end up at the fork, and then we go _left _and follow the road until we reach Perivantium. I believe that that is where your other companions were sent, and where we are heading." Lina raised an eyebrow at him when he rolled the map up, feeling a strange sense of de ja vu take over her.

"I'll nod and assume that that made sense."

"That is probably for the best." Tamlen hit her over the head with the map in jest, before going back to his tent.

* * *

"_Sixteen sovereigns each_!" Lina cursed under her breath, walking through the gates to the city with a considerably now-empty coin purse and a bad mood hovering over her.

"I told you that you should have just left the horses alone outside the gates instead of boarding them. This is why you should listen to me more often."

"Listen to you? Why would I _listen _to_ you_? Last time I listened to you, you almost got the both of us _killed_ and separated from our clan_!"_ Lina hissed at him, not realizing exactly what she had said until Tamlen cast a steely glare and his mouth snapped shut. Her eyes widened and her hand slapped over her mouth as it hit home what she said, and she instantly grabbed his shoulders to force him to look at her.

"I- I really didn't mean that! I'm so sorry! I had no reason to say that, and- and-" Tamlen put a hand over her mouth to shut her up, and shook his head.

"Just get me to this woman so I can be healed." His voice was calm, but the look in his eyes showed Lina that she was in deep trouble for saying what she did, and that she wasn't quite forgiven.

* * *

They both waited in awkward silence outside the small cosy-looking house in the city. Lina was fumbling with her hands, biting her nails every few seconds and then remembering that it was a bad habit to get herself caught in. Tamlen simply glared at the wall, looking paler than ever with dark circles under his eyes, his face more sunken that usual.

The door opened after a few seconds, and an older elf answered the door, looking well beyond the age that Lina had been given. Grey hair that had been stripped of all colour had been pulled back into a scraggly hair tie, clothes that were tattered hung on her skinny frame and wrinkles littered her face looking terribly out of place next to her bright eyes.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, we're looking for Fiona. I'm not sure of her last name, but we were told she resided here?" Tamlen shifted nervously behind her, his eyes looking anywhere but at the two elven women conversing. The woman herself smiled grimly at Lina, pulling the door open further and motioning for them both to enter.

"Grey Warden business? I daresay, I left them over twenty years ago." Lina snapped her head up as she crossed the threshold at the woman's words, a look of confusion flashing in her eyes when her gaze met Fiona's.

"How did you know we're Grey Wardens?" The woman led them to a sitting area, motioning for them to sit on some chairs and tossing something towards Rinoa. On closer inspection Lina noticed it was some meat. The elf _had _to have been expecting them.

"I know that _you _are a Grey Warden. The boy, he is tainted but not a Warden. Be blunt, what do you need?" Lina, bewildered at the woman's own bluntness, watched in wonder as Fiona moved her hand a small inch towards the fireplace in the room, a second later a fireball forming and shooting towards the logs behind the grate.

"I'll be blunt then. My friend here is tainted, and he has been for over two years now. We delayed the worst of the taint by using the Ashes of Andraste, but he was already a ghoul. You are resistant to the Calling, meaning that you must have done something to the taint in itself to stop it from destroying your body. I need your help." Lina watched as the woman's face changed from confusion to sceptical to downright shock. She raised her eyebrow at Lina, casting her eyes over at Tamlen for a few moments before facing Lina again.

"You want Remille's trinket, don't you? I lost it in the deep roads, shortly after I returned to Weisshaupt and began the search for the Architect. Unfortunately, the section was blown apart by the Weisshaupt mages after the mission went botched." Lina groaned loudly at her answer, putting her head in her hands and slumping down in the chair.

"Then what do you propose that I do to save my friend?"

"Make him a Grey Warden." Lina snapped up in her seat, sitting straight immediately and looking up at the standing Fiona.

"Will that even work? He has been tainted for too long."

"Do you have any tainted blood that is not fresh?" Lina started to shake her head slowly before Tamlen elbowed her, and her angry glare was cut short when he pointed to the flask on her hip.

"It... seems I do." Lina unhooked it from her belt hook, holding it in front of her face in wonder with her eyebrows narrowed. "It's nearly two years old, though."

"It should do. He's already tainted, so he has a good chance of survival. Come with me to the city's Circle of Magi, and we'll get him changed." Fiona whistled through her teeth and caught Rinoa's attention, who had been idly licking the floor trying to taste the remnants of the meat she had given him. He barked at her cheekily, before silently moving through her legs and towards the door.

Lina looked down at Tamlen, who had started to go silently green once the prospect of becoming a Grey Warden had arisen.

"Are you okay?"

"I can't believe you are going to make me drink that blood." He shuddered, looking at the floor as if it was the cause of all his problems and slowly stood, dusting himself off and staring at the door. Lina shook her head at him, taking his hand in her own and squeezing it gently in encouragement, before they both followed Rinoa and Fiona out the door.

She didn't let go of his hand, and he found he didn't mind.

* * *

"Now, they only added a little more Lyrium to the blood so that it is more effective, so you should be fine. Chin up, young lad, you'll pull through." Fiona cast Tamlen a small smile, but it only succeeded in making him feel sicker. Lina was on the other side of the room talking with Wynne, who had been in the Perivantium Circle searching the library for any tips on how to help Tamlen. They had agreed to meet in the circle anyway, but Lina found it a pleasant surprise nonetheless.

After a few minutes of the mages leaving the room accompanied with the Templars, Fiona took the cup in both her hands and spoke the words needed prior to the joining. Lina felt Wynne's arm around her as Fiona spoke the last few words.

"From this moment forth, Tamlen, you are a Grey Warden." Tamlen took the cup from Fiona, briefly looking at the small amount of liquid in distaste. Lina felt Wynne's hand squeezed her arm gently as Tamlen raised the cup to his lips, parted them and drank the small amount of joining fluid with no hesitation.

Only Wynne's hand stopped her from darting forwards when Tamlen started to keel over, clutching at his forehead as the pain Lina knew all too well rippled through him. A groan of pain left his lips as he swayed to the side, nearly losing his footing as the taint twisted and turned in his blood, forcing him to bend to its will. His eyes rolled backwards into his head; Lina winced inwardly as she remember how painful that really was, and watched as they glazed over.

As with Daveth two years ago, the moment was now where it would be clear if he would live or die. Tamlen would either keel over and choke, breathing stopped and body lifeless, or he would collapse to the floor and writhe for a few moments before heavy breathing set in. Lina started to bite her nails in worry, ignoring Wynne's gentle squeezes on her arm to stop her.

Eventually Tamlen fell to the floor; Wynne's hold on Lina relinquished and she ran towards him in the middle of the chamber, falling to her knees and holding her hand over his mouth to check for breath. She couldn't hold her hand still, however, and gave up after a few seconds and decided on shaking him lightly. He didn't stir, and his too-large armour prevented her from checking if his chest was moving up and down.

In frantic fear she grabbed his arm and roughly pulled the gauntlet free from his hand, her own smaller hands pressing down onto his wrists to check for any level of pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief at the very weak, almost undetectable pulse under her fingertips, and cast a grin over to Wynne.

It was _over_.

* * *

"_Relax_, you look fine. Merrill will _love _you, looking as young and golden as you do!" Lina's words cut through Tamlen's obsessive rant on whether he still looked ghoulish, and her childish grin surfaced when he looked stunned for a moment.

"_What?!" _Her words eventually sank in, but by the time he realised it she had bolted off through the trees, following the somewhat fresh Aravel tracks in the dirt path. Rinoa and he took chase, still unaccustomed to the energy he now had and the feeling of a heavy weight being taken away from him, despite it being three months since they left the Tevinter Imperium.

"I don't believe you just said that. You know how much I hate her!" She weaved off the road and into the trees again, still heading in the direction of the aravel tracks but in the forest instead. She turned briefly and ran backwards, facing him with a grin.

"That is generally the reason why I said it. It's called sarcasm! A useful technique I picked up when travelling. Try it sometime!" She turned again and ran, disappearing right through a bush and over a hedge, the thickets and trees dispersing a little before he heard a very loud crash and a yelp of pain. Rinoa, upon hearing the yelp, sped up and darted through the trees, Tamlen following.

Instead of hearing cries of pain and seeing a lot of blood like he expected, he heard only laughter mixed with frustrated words.

"No, leave me alone! No, not my hair! Maren!" Tamlen stopped running and moved through the last few metres of trees upon hearing her voice, cocking an eyebrow in disbelief at what he saw. Lina had ran and jumped over a small bush of berries, caught her foot, and fallen right through the wooden fence of the Halla pen. The reason she was laughing was because one of the newest Halla calves had slowly moved over towards her and started to chew on her hair and ears.

"Well, we found our camp. Although Lina, I thought you had better taste for entrances." He motioned with his eyes the rest of the camp, half of whom were stood in shocked silence at the scene in the Halla pen- Maren being one of them. Lina stopped struggling against the Halla and allowed it to chew her hair as she sat up from the ground, grinning nervously as she faced people she hadn't seen in over two years.

Ashalle was the first to break the silence that had only initially lasted a few seconds, opening the Halla pen gate and shouting both their names, her arms open to embrace them both. Lina stood and dived into her arms, tears threatening to spill over her eyes as she embraced her tightly.

"Oh Da'len, you had me so worried when you didn't return with me to the camp! Where have you been this past year?" Ashalle held her out at arm's length, eyeing her over and prodding her stomach with a tut. "You must eat immediately Da'len." It took a while for her to stop fussing over Lina as everyone else went back to their duties or went after the escaped Halla who had left the second the gate was opened, and none of them noticed Marethari leave her tent to check the source of the commotion.

_That _was when Ashalle finally noticed Tamlen was Tamlen.

And just like that, the escaped Halla calf was completely forgotten as Fenarel shouted Tamlen's name and ran to envelope him in an embrace, followed by the rest of the camp who needed to see for themselves that a previously 'dead' hunter was actually living and breathing in the camp. Merrill wrapped an arm around Lina's shoulders and half heartedly squeezed her, a smile on her face.

"I think it is safe to say that we Dalish elves have _never _experienced something quite so bizarre."


End file.
